Alter Persona
by EriceGen
Summary: Ash wakes up in Team Rocket's lab remembering nothing of his past. Discovering that he is a clone and an experiment to boot, he leaves Team Rocket, not quite as a human. Dreams lead him to discover his relationship with the Legendaries and his past.
1. Chapter 1

Genesis Of A Creation  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon. The idea, however is mine. Not that I'd sue if you take the idea as long as you'd ask.  
  
Note: This fic is written due to boredom on my part, and there is a high chance that I might not complete it. However, if I find that there are people who like this fic, I will do my best to continue.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Ash slowly opened his eyes. Immediately, he was greeted by the sight of people in lab coats- presumably scientists- working around many kinds of machinery. He felt tired. Very tired, but he forced himself to stay awake. Long enough to notice that he was in a containment unit filled with orange liquid.  
  
In front of him, a scientist looked up, and started, before saying something to his colleagues, all of whom stopped whatever they were doing and rushed to look at him. Feeling the fatigue roll over him, Ash closed his eyes and let the darkness of sleep consume him.  
  
In his sleep, Ash dreamed. He was on a secluded island, no one else was around. He looked at the quickly descending sun, waiting for its orange glow to dissipate. As he waited, he flexed his wings, of which was black. Just like his clothes.  
  
The last of sunlight disappeared under the horizon. Dropping to a crouch, he paused. Shaking his head, he pushed his legs, feeling himself launched through the air. Automatically, his wings flapped, bearing his weight.  
  
The wind rushing through his hair, he looked to the west as he flew in that direction. He did not know what he was. but he had orders. And he was to carry them out. If he did them well, he would be rewarded with meat, each piece large, warm and still caked with blood. Thinking about food, he licked his teeth, feeling the sharpness of his canines...  
  
A dim light broke through the darkness, causing him to open his eyes once more. This time, he did not feel fatigued. He looked to the front to see the scientist scribbling on a pad, before looking up.  
  
Seeing that Ash had woken up, the scientist smiled and turned to call in what appeared to be an excited manner. Slowly, Ash turned to look at where the man was calling to. He saw a blue haired man and a red headed woman with a cat like creature. A Meowth.  
  
The two came over, and he looked down at them as they conversed under his containment tank. After a few minutes, everyone stopped and looked towards a door, which Ash lifted his head to look.  
  
A well dressed man who appeared to be in his forties was standing there with a Persian. He appeared to be of high ranking, considering the way everyone saluted. Like the trio before him, the man approached.  
  
The man spoke for a moment, before gesturing towards him. The scientist nodded, and pressed a button causing the level of the liquid to fall. As the liquid fell, Ash breathed his first breath.  
  
Once the liquid had drained away, the door slid open, allowing him to leave the tank, which he did not. Cautiously, he surveyed the crowed gathered around him, his eyes narrowed slightly. As his view passed the scientists, the drew back.  
  
After several minutes, he took a step out of the tank, completely naked.  
  
"Get him the uniform," the man ordered the scientist who scurried off to get what his boss ordered. He then turned to Ash. "Ashton Ketchum," he greeted.  
  
"Who are you," Ash asked the man flatly, his eyes scrutinizing his every move. He sounded like he was making a statement but he did not care. In what way he spoke mattered not to anyone.  
  
"Forgive me. I am Giovanni, leader of this organization called Team Rocket. You are currently in our lab where you had undergone treatment," Giovanni answered.  
  
"How do you know my name and why am I here?" Ash went on flatly. It seemed to him that he could not feel anything, thus better to have no emotion in his voice. Then again, it appeared to come out naturally.  
  
"To answer your second inquiry, you had an accident near here, in which your mother died, I'm afraid," Giovanni told him. "We took you in and treated you. As for your former question, we checked up on you, so as to be able to inform your next of kin. However, it appeared that you're the only person left in your family, Ashton."  
  
"I'm... the only one in my family?" he asked as though uninterested. Then again, he was uninterested. "How did the accident occur?"  
  
"Yes. You're the last of the Ketchum family. As for the accident, can't you remember?" Giovanni questioned.  
  
"......" Ash paused for a moment. "I do not remember anything," he admitted nonchalantly.  
  
"It's a pity... it matter not for now. Ashton, we of Team Rocket will try to help you," Giovanni told the man. As though to highlight his point, the scientist returned with the clothes and a towel.  
  
Ash nodded and was about to head for the changing room when Giovanni called again. "It may be a bit too soon, but would you like to join Team Rocket?"  
  
Ash stopped. Without turning, he answered, "I have nothing else to do. I'll join Team Rocket as a for of my thanks for your help." With that, he entered the changing room.  
  
Giovanni smirked. "Very good, Ashton. Very good..." Turning to the couple, he proceeded to give them orders. "Jessie, James, you two shall assist Ashton Ketchum in any way possible. Is that clear?"  
  
"Yes sir!" the two rockets and the Meowth answered as the door closed behind their boss' retreating back.  
  
"Man... we used to be the best agents we had and now what are we? A couple of lackeys," Jessie complained, clenching her fist. "All because of two people we loooovvvveeee so much," she added angrily.  
  
"You should be glad that the boss has yet to sack us, Jessie," James reminded her.  
  
"Yeah! I don't think I appreciate being fed to the boss' Seaking!" Meowth added. "Either way, we're stuck with this guy so we might as well try to do a good job..."  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Here's your room, Ash," James informed the man who was by now dressed in his 'uniform', which happened to differ from the normal rockets'. Jessie lagged behind, still fuming that she was reduced to a lap dog. "If you need us, just go to the intercom."  
  
"Very well," Ash told him, and slid his card through the slot. The machine beeped and the LED light turned green, granting him access. Without a backward glance, he slammed the door in their faces.  
  
"Grr.... that bastard..." Jessie growled.  
  
"Forget it, Jess. We had better make sure we do a good job or it's... keeee," Meowth made a slashing motion at his throat.  
  
Still fuming, Jessie followed the two back to their quarters.  
  
Ash looked around his room, which he felt was too large. It could easily have been one hundred square meters.  
  
The room was completely furnished, with everything any normal person would want. Ash however, felt that those things were a waste of money. To him, all he needed were the basic needs. But since it was already there...  
  
Ash walked over to the full length mirror which had caught his eye. He looked at the mirror, to see a tall, brown haired young man. He would've looked like any normal human, if not for his eyes which glowed a fiery crimson.  
  
For several long moments he stared at his reflection, trying to remember how he used to look like. However after those futile moments had passed, he shook his head and changed out of his clothes and headed straight for bed. He was going to meet Giovanni regarding his training as a Team Rocket member.  
  
As he turned, dropping his shirt on the way, he failed to notice the two small bumps which was located between his shoulder blades.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Ash stood in front of the mirror again the next morning. He was dressed in a clean set of uniform. He wore a black tee-shirt under a shirt of similar colour. Truth be told, he was completely in black. Black long pants, black boots, cloak, shoulder guard and fingerless gloves.  
  
"Who am I?" he questioned his reflection. He knew his name, but he knew of nothing beyond that.  
  
He walked over to the intercom and pressed on it only to be greeted by loud snores. He lifted his finger off the connection button and exited his room, not wanting to wake them. After all, he should have no problem getting around the compound.  
  
After walking around for several minutes, a rocket member confronted him.  
  
"Who are you?! What are you doing here?" the man challenged him, taking out his pokeballs.  
  
Ash stared at him with a blank glare. "Who are you to ask me that?" he asked flatly, narrowing his eyes slightly.  
  
"Grr... impudence! Go Butterfree!" the rocket tossed the red and white ball at the ground, releasing the flying pokemon. "Sleep powder!" he commanded the butterfly, which flew up and released dust off its wings. The rocket smirked. "That will teach you to challenge Team Rocket!"  
  
Ash tilted his head up to look at the pokemon, before looking back at the man. "I shall not challenge Team Rocket. But you must be punished," he walked toward the rocket, before suddenly rushing him.  
  
"W-what the?!" the man gasped in shock. "B-but the sleep powder..."  
  
He never got the chance to finish his sentence as Ash rammed into him, crashing into the wall, breaking his back from the force. "A worthless member should not join Team Rocket," he told the corpse, before leaving the scene. 


	2. Chapter 2

Genesis Of A Creation  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon. Only the games. Sue and you'll find only a couple of NGE models and posters. Oh. And this comp.  
  
Author's notes: I have asked Drakon about using the name, and since it has no apparent meaning, I've used it to name one of the pokemon. If there are any protests, please e-mail me and I'll change it. Anyway, enjoy the fic. And thanks to Optimus and DES for their support. And somehow, after finishing this chapter, I find that it was unsatisfactory... hope that you will enjoy it anyway. I'll do my best to work harder!

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"Giovanni," Ash greeted the leader of Team Rocket, causing him to turn around. He had made his way around successfully, but he couldn't say the same for those foolish enough to try to stop him. The only person who had not tried to stop him was the sectary outside the office.  
  
"Ashton," the boss returned, smiling. "I see you've caused quite a stir in the compound," he added.  
  
"Ash would be fine, and what disturbance have I caused?" Ash inquired, looking at Giovanni in the eye. "I only knew that I helped Team Rocket to be rid of worthless members," he informed the man sitting in the chair.  
  
"I thank you for the assistance, but please consult me before doing things next time," Giovanni told Ash. "And for what reason have you come to find me?"  
  
"I would like to inquire about my training schedule," he replied. "For me to be a worthy member of Team Rocket, I believe it would be, to both Team Rocket and my interest, to start as soon as possible."  
  
"Very good, Ash," Giovanni smiled again, still half cloaked in the shadows. "Before you can start, what weapon would you like to specialise in?"  
  
"Why would I need weapons?" Ash questioned.  
  
"Not everybody supports Team Rocket, and the government is particularly strong against us. It would be best if you have some form of weapon to protect yourself should you be in... a difficult situation."  
  
"I see. I shall decide when I have seen your arsenal, then," Ash told the boss. "Is there any other requirement?"  
  
"There is something else... it's not a requirement but it would benefit you tremendously if you had pokemon. In fact, I have already decided on two I wish to give to you," Giovanni stood up. "Follow me," he ordered Ash who complied.  
  
Giovanni pressed a button on his chair's armrest. A hidden wall on one of the walls slid open. Giovanni lead the way down as Ash followed. "This is our pokemon room," Giovanni told the young man behind him. "Not many people have been allowed here, but I can see that you are going to be a very special trainer."  
  
"......" Ash did not answer as he looked around the room filled with balls of many kinds, each containing many types of pokemon. "So what is it that you wanted to give me?" he asked Giovanni who went over to a hidden compartment and opened it.  
  
"These two pokemon are very special, as both of them cannot be found in the wild. Or anywhere else in the world, for that matter," he told Ash, passing the two black and white pokeballs to him.  
  
After that task was done, he lead him to an open area beyond the room. "You may open them if you wish," Giovanni looked at Ash from the side of his vision.  
  
"... go," Ash muttered, throwing the two objects into the center of the field.  
  
The first orb opened, a white mass of light materializing. The light slowly faded and a dragon like creature stood in place. It did not resemble a Dragonite. Rather, it was like a dragon from medieval times. Instead of scales, it was covered with fur.  
  
"That is Eidra, a very special and strong pokemon. I'm sure that it will do its utmost to serve you," Giovanni informed Ash, as the other pokemon appeared like the Drakon had.  
  
The second pokemon opened its eyes to see the two humans. It looked like a pure white tiger with wings. One could easily have mistaken it for a griffin, if not for its colour and the fact that it had the head of a tiger instead of bird.  
  
"This is a Halgre," Giovanni went on, looking towards the creature. "Like the former, it will serve you well, for it has been personally trained by the best Team Rocket trainers and myself."  
  
"I see," Ash nodded. "Can you leave us alone? I would like to know my pokemon better," he turned to Giovanni who nodded in consent and left. After he heard the whirring sound which meant that Giovanni had really left, he turned his attention back to the two pokemon.  
  
He looked at both of them, as they returned the look. For several moments, they simply stared at each other, sizing one another up.  
  
Ash broke the silence. "I am Ash Ketchum," he announced to them. "I am your trainer as of today, and I would like both of your help to make me the best trainer," he added, kneeling on one knee, much to every party's surprise. Even himself.  
  
Eidra spread its wings and bowed its head. I am Drakon, and I will serve you as I would to a father, it spoke to Ash mentally.  
  
The Halgre bent its front legs, lowering its head. its mental voice as deep and sincere as Eidra's. it added, it eyes cast ground ward in respect of his new master.  
  
Ash nodded and got up, as did his to charges. "If what Giovanni said was right, I will have to familiarize myself with you," Ash told them. "Can you two tell me about yourself? Like your types and attacks."  
  
Both Eidra and Halgre nodded in affirmation. The next few hours were spent getting to know each other better.  
  
Meanwhile, back in his office, Giovanni smirked. "Everything is going according to plan..." he spoke to himself in a low voice. Then, turning to look at the 'casualty report', his smile widened. "Ash was right. These members are not worthy enough to be in Team Rocket..."  
  
"Giovanni," Ash greeted his boss, as he was now officially part of Team Rocket.  
  
"How goes your training with your pokemon?" Giovanni inquired, as he led Ash out of the field back to the room Ash had entered earlier that morning.  
  
"It went well," Ash told him, not revealing anything more. "If possible, I would like to visit the arsenal now," he changed the subject. "I have yet to find a weapon I would like to be able to use with specialty."  
  
"Very well," Giovanni lead Ash through the compound. There were many rockets who had caught sight of Ash earlier that morning but did not challenge him, and they retreated fearfully, seeing him with the boss.  
  
"We have a large array of weapons, from close range to distance weapons. However, you should best select a weapon which you feel would benefit you best," Giovanni advised.  
  
"... and what weapon would you suggest?" Ash asked the older man, his fingers stuck into his pocket.  
  
"My suggestion would be for you to learn to use a handgun and a sniper rifle," Giovanni voiced. "You would often be sent on dangerous missions which might require you to kill," Giovanni glanced at Ash out of the corner of his eye. "Do you think you can handle that?"  
  
"It would be a simple matter once I have mastered the weapon," Ash replied flatly. "I aspire to be the best agent in Team Rocket and I would not let anything stand in my way," he went on, as his boss opened the door to the arsenal, before stepping aside to let Ash enter first.  
  
He strode into the storehouse, covered from top to bottom with arms of all sorts. As Giovanni had promised, there were close combat weapons like swords, daggers, batons, and long ranged weapons like rocket launchers. However, Giovanni had not told Ash that there were many elemental weapons like flamethrowers, hydro cannons and even a weapon which used liquid nitrogen to freeze.  
  
Slowly, as glanced through the stacks of weapons, looking for items which appealed to him. It did not take long for him to find a handgun which had been modified to be used as both a regular gun and a sniper weapon. However, he felt something drawing him towards the back of the store. After several more minutes of searching, he felt his eyes being drawn to a pair daggers.  
  
He picked it up, examining them carefully. It had a side blade which, when held, would run over his knuckles. As he gripped the handle, its side blades gleamed, protecting his fingers. "... Impressive," he muttered, as he pocketed the weapon into his cloak.  
  
"When will my training start," he returned to the door of the storehouse where Giovanni waited.  
  
"It can start tomorrow. Most of your training will focus on self-defense, use of your weapons and gunnery," Giovanni outlined the schedule to Ash who nodded.  
  
"Very well. I shall take my leave now," Ash told him and turned in the other direction where his room was. 

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Author's notes: okay. Now that you've finished this chapter, do you think I can depend on you to help?  
  
Firstly, how would you like Misty and Ash's relationship? E.g. Do you want them to already know each other before this section or do you want them to be strangers?  
  
Secondly, would you like Misty to be a government agent, a gym leader or both?  
  
Thirdly, if any of you have any ideas, please. Just tell me and I'll see if I can work on it. You'll get the credit for that, of course.  
  
Finally, thanks for reading and pls. review! I need everyone's help!


	3. Chapter 3

Genesis Of A Creation  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon.  
  
Author's notes. I think that after this chapter comes out and I don't get enough reviews to help me (most reviews should have info I asked from readers since I need everyone's help), I don't think I will continue the next chapter. But then again, if you don't review, I have more time to study. It's your loss, so decided if you wanna review!  
  
Also, I would like to thank Optimus Magnus for his help.  
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Ash placed one foot on the low wall as he surveyed the street below him. He had risen up in the ranks faster than anyone had been known to, and no one questioned him. His eyes swept the street to find his target, which didn't take long.  
  
Amidst the brown and black, Lt. Surge's blonde hair made him stick out like an advertising neon light. Furthermore, he was at least a head taller than most people.  
  
Ash smirked as the stupidity of it. At ground level, Lt. Surge's height and posse of 'bodyguards' would've been slightly helpful in clearing a way and protecting him from assaulters, but from this height... Ash was going to have no problem hitting his target.  
  
He brought the scope of the gun to his eye, tracing the direction where the gym leader moved. Patiently, he waited for when his target was most vulnerable, and where it would ensure a sure kill.  
  
Lt. Surge turned, his action as though in slow motion to Ash. Ash took his aim and slowly pulled the trigger. Less than a second later, he heard the silenced explosion, smelt the smoke as the gunpowder burned.  
  
On the ground, a small red dot appeared at the giant's temple, causing him to stop in mid-action. One of his posse gently nudged him to make him move, only to shout as he fell heavily to the ground. Chaos ensued as people clambered to get out of the street in fear that they would be next.  
  
Ash picked removed the scope and kept it in a pocket, and replacing the dun in its holster. Reaching into his breast pocket, he took out a pair of sunglasses, putting it on before vanishing into the shadows of the building.  
  
Ash pushed open the door to the gym, only to be greeted by silence. Looking around, he saw that the gym was not just a gym. Instead, it was also a performance stage. So this is the Cerulean Sisters' stage, he thought to himself.  
  
It was a large place to accommodate for the many people who watched the three sisters' performance. The gigantic tank was filled with water, and had ice floes on it. All the more the better, Ash went on, looking in vain for the gym leader.  
  
"I wish to challenge the gym leader," he called out when he saw no one else in the area.  
  
"Yeah! Hold on!" a woman's voice replied from behind him. Ash turned to see the source of the voice, and spotted a hand waving from a window above him. "I'll be down soon!"  
  
Ash shifted his loosely hung belt, revealing his two pokeballs as he waited for the woman. He hoped that she would be more of a challenge than Lt. Surge.  
  
"Sorry," a red headed woman appeared at the stairs a few moments later.  
  
"Who are you?" Ash asked her as he took note of her features.  
  
The woman blushed a deep red before replying, "I'm Misty Waterflower, the cerulean gym leader."  
  
"Isn't the gym run by the cerulean sisters?" Ash questioned again.  
  
Misty sighed as she leaned against the wall. "I can't blame you for not knowing me. I'm the youngest of the cerulean sisters. I don't really have a talent for acting so I don't perform in any of the performances," Misty answered. "Anyway, they left for another of their traveling performances so I'm left in charge of the gym again," she ended. "Not to mention the paperwork too," she growled under her breath.  
  
"Don't gym leaders have a secretary to help them with that?"  
  
"Quit asking me questions. Are you here to challenge me or are you here to know me?" Misty snapped at him, irritated. "For your information, I'm not interested in finding anyone yet."  
  
"......" Ash fell silent at her outburst. "I must apologize. It happens that I was simply... curious," he replied. "I challenge you for the cascade badge," he went on.  
  
"Good. Two pokemon each, no time limit, fine with you?" she growled, glaring at him slightly. "Good," she headed for one side of the tank-like arena after he nodded. "Go Gyarados!"  
  
"Take it down," Ash replied, sending out the dragon pokemon.  
  
Misty gapped at the pokemon. "What kinda pokemon is that?!" she yelled at Ash who did not reply. Instead, he snapped his finger, causing it to rush at her Gyarados. "Gyarados, evade it and create a whirlpool" Misty formulated a quick plan.  
  
The water dragon dived into the water, as Ash's pokemon flew upwards. Taking the chance, the Gyarados swam in circles underwater, forcing the water to spin around it as a vortex.  
  
"Gyarados, once you get it in the whirlpool, freeze it with a blizzard attack and then fire a thunder bolt at the ice to finish it off" Misty had found what she thought was a sure fire winner  
  
The water shot up quickly , virtually engulfing the flying pokemon. "Eidra, dive into the vortex," Ash commanded. The creature reacted instantly, folding back its wings and entered the whirlpool.  
  
"Quick, Gyarados, fire the blizzard attack now" Misty saw that this Eidra was an adaptable pokemon. Gyarados stuck its head above the surface of the water and blew a great sheet of snow and ice towards Eidra. When it was sure it had frozen its opponent, Gyarados jumped out of the water and prepared to thunderbolt.  
  
Ash stood motionless, his arms crossed. Misty was slightly astonished to see him not giving his pokemon any commands. Gyarados' mouth was charged with electricity as it gathered power, ready to execute the command.  
  
The frozen whirlpool suddenly disappeared, as water took its place, causing a miniature waterfall, as Eidra flew back upwards.  
  
"Gyarados, fire the Thunderbolt into the air, fill the whole roof with the attack" Misty made a small adjustment to her previous instructions. Gyarados fired a wide spread of lightning bolts into the air. The whole gym lit up an eerie yellow glow. Ash simply looked at Eidra.  
  
Eidra needed no further instruction and deflected the bolts of electricity by spinning, forming a shield of red, orange and yellow. Specks of flame and sparks shot out at the invading charges, neutralizing them.  
  
Misty was at a loss. This was like no other Pokemon she had ever battled with. Usually the mere sight of Gyarados gave her an edge in battle, never mind the moves it could perform. "Gyarados, HYPER BEAM ATTACK" Misty went for broke and used Gyarados' most powerful move.  
  
Gyarados' inhaled and formed a ball in its mouth: it was made of lightning, ice, fire, water, rock and all other elements. With a great roar, the dragon fired the powerful beam attack, at Eidra  
  
"Refraction egg," Ash muttered. His pokemon took the chance that while the Gyarados shot the miniature particle beam, quickly formed another shield under it's current two, made up of the water which still clung onto its body.  
  
The beam exploded from the Gyarados' mouth. Eidra stayed motionless as the beam approached.  
  
Misty was shocked. Most pokemon would do their best to escape, but this creature just waited for it...  
  
The beam sliced through the lightning and fire shield, before touching the final layer of protection... and the beam split into many small rays which angled away from the pokemon, forming many small rainbows.  
  
"Finish it," Ash muttered.  
  
Drakon sped toward the Gyarados using speeds faster than anyone had ever seen before, blasting it with flamethrower, causing it to roar in pain and anger. Having been blinded by the flames, Gyarados was unable to do anything, giving Drakon the opening it needed to finish it off.  
  
"Electrical tail slam," Ash ordered it pokemon. The dragon turned upside- down, slapping the Gyarados with enough strength to throw it back into the water, where the attack's effect was amplified.  
  
Misty brought her arm up to shield her vision from the blinding yellow light as the water was electrified, electrocuting the pokemon within it. When the light subsided, Misty's hand shot to her mouth as she saw her pokemon thrashing in the water in great pain.  
  
"Gyarados! Return!" she called, retrieving her pokemon into its pokeball. "You put up a good fight, Gyarados," she whispered to the pokeball, before keeping it. Misty turned to look at her challenger who had retrieved his pokemon as well. Who is this guy, and how did he get that pokemon? she asked herself, only to find no answer.  
  
"Go Dewgong!" she called, tossing another pokeball into the arena. The pokemon materialized on the ice and gave a bark. "Be careful, Dewgong," she cautioned. However, she wondered if she should really send out Dewgong. It was her favorite pokemon.  
  
Steeling herself for battle, Misty soon began to take charge and issued the battle orders to Dewgong. "Dewgong, dazzle him with Aurora Beam, then dive under the water" Misty used a similar tactic, but this carried a hidden message.  
  
"Gong" the creature said and fired the dazzling beam at the new pokemon, which was another pokemon Misty had never seen. It was like a pure white tiger, but had wings as well. Once Dewgong was sure he'd blinded or at least distracted his foe; he dove under the water and swam under an ice area. Once there he began using his horn to bash a small hole in the ice.  
  
"Halgre, you know what to do," Ash told his pokemon, who growled in reply and stood on the ice, unmoving.  
  
Dewgong was unaware of what was going on, and the warnings Misty was now shouting to him were inaudible under all that water. He penetrated the ice and prepared an Ice Beam attack. He fired upwards and then scampered out of his hidey hole and resurfaced looking very pleased with himself. "DEWGONG, LOOK OUT" Misty screamed  
  
Halgre waited for the Dewgong to appear from the hole it had made, before attacking. Long sharp pieces of ice javelins formed around Halgre. Once the Dewgong was completely out of the water, it launched the javelins at the unsuspecting pokemon. Icy mist formed from the attack, and Halgre growled angrily.  
  
Its attack had managed to injure the seal pokemon, but it had failed to take it out. The Dewgong had managed to slide away in time only to take a few scrapes.  
  
Misty was worried. This pokemon looked like creature straight from the Legends of years ago. She had seen the power of the other one and it had taken her Gyarados out with little trouble  
  
"Dewgong, hit it with Hydro Pump" Misty commanded Dewgong use its most powerful water move. Dewgong spat a huge column of water almost a foot across at Halgre. Hoping if not to defeat it outright, to maybe make it connect with the roof of the gym to maximize damage  
  
Halgre's eyes glowed as the water rushed at him. As it did, the water rapidly began to slow down, until it stopped at the middle of the arena. Suddenly, it shot upwards, turning in circle, forming a whirlpool.  
  
Dewgong stared at the water and was for a while mesmerized by the swirling vortex of its home element. Misty on the other hand was on the ball.  
  
"Dewgong, launch another Ice Beam attack, freeze the water before its used against you" she cried. Dewgong powered up the attack by lowering its head and concentrating the element to its horn. With a long bark the dark blue beam rushed towards the water vortex  
  
Once again, Ash left everything to his pokemon. Giovanni had always told him that to have a pokemon at his beck and call would show his power, but he felt that a pokemon without initiative was useless. It was proven now as Halgre allowed the whirlpool to freeze.  
  
Misty saw a chance to at least bring this match to a draw. Since the water was frozen, she could reasonably assume that Halgre was frozen to it. So she opted for a bit of creativity. "Dewgong, Slam attack, send that Pokemon into orbit" she ordered. Dewgong leapt out of the water and used all its might to slam the frozen block with its tail.  
  
"Spiked wall," Ash ordered. The seemingly frozen pokemon suddenly appeared behind the Dewgong, even as the seal's tail approached the ice. The ice from the ground and the frozen whirlpool exploded out into sharp points which stuck out like the jaws of a shark.  
  
"DEWGONG, EVADE" Misty screamed. It was however too late. The sharp icicles cut into Dewgong like razors. Although fast enough to avoid being impaled by one of these spikes, Dewgong suffered numerous deep lacerations to its body.  
  
"Oh god!" Misty yelled as she jumped from floe to floe to get to her pokemon, where she cradled it to her chest. Shakily, she reached out to touch one of the cuts to be replied with a wail of pain from the Dewgong.  
  
Angrily, she turned to look at Ash. "Look at what you did to my pokemon you- you bastard! You only have to knock it out!" she yelled at him. "Get lost! The badge is on the table!" she continued, before pulling Dewgong closer to her and burrowing her face in its soft warm fur.  
  
"......" Ash stood there for several moments, looking at the gym leader and her pokemon. He then retrieved his pokemon quietly and left the gym, not stopping to get the badge.  
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Author's notes again!:  
  
Alrighty! Another chapter finished! So readers, (whoever you are) are you ready to review? Please do! It's one of my best works! looks at readers with puppy face okay. Maybe that won't work.  
  
Anyway, I think this title and summary is rather... crappy, don't cha think? I would appreciate it if you were to suggests names and help me think of a better summary...  
  
Once again, I thank you for reading this story! Even if you don't want to help me...TT  
  
If I get enough reviews are is motivated enough, the next chapter would be out soon. By the way, thanks to Optimus Magnus again for his help in writing the battle scene!


	4. Chapter 4

Genesis Of A Creation  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon. I wonder if I can get it cheap from whoever does...  
  
Author's notes: okay. I haven't gotten many reviews, but I'm gonna die if I don't get to use the comp so I'm making my mom believe that I'm typing... which I am. Anyway, I'm kinda stuck with writer's block so I hope you'll forgive me if this chapter sucks. Once again, thanks to Optimus for his help in editing.  
  
This reminds me. I was actually forgetful enough to thank my reviewers. Thanks you people very much! Your reviews have really given me a confidence boost. I hope to do better(if I can, and with the time.)  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Oh great. What is it this time?" Misty grumbled as she pulled herself out of bed to get the ringing doorbell. It was the next day after the battle, but Dewgong and Gyarados were starting to do better.  
  
"Can I help you?" she rubbed her eyes as she leaned against the doorframe while she opened the door.  
  
"Misty, sorry to wake you so early in the morning, but Lance and the others called a meeting," her best friend Brock was at the door. "It appears to be rather important considering that he called the rest of us to tell us that at 3 in the morning."  
  
Misty stifled a yawn as she nodded. "I wonder what does he want this time," she mumbled before turning to go back into her house. "Will I be delaying anyone?" she asked tiredly.  
  
"Well... not really, if you make it fast. Our flight is due in one and a half hour," Brock informed her. "We might just make it if you do everything fast. It took me about two and a half hours just to reach here even by plane."  
  
"Okay. Why don't you come in for a while, while I shower and change?" Misty entered the house without waiting for an answer, leaving Brock to enter and close the door behind him.  
  
Misty was more awake by the time she finished her shower, which lasted only five minutes. She knew that if 'Lance and Gang' were to order you to go to a conference at Indigo Plateau, you get ready and reached the airport in time. Otherwise, there goes her status.  
  
"Hey Dewgong," she greeted as she poked her head into the pokemon's room on her way back to the living room where Brock was staring at his watch.  
  
"Gong!" the white pokemon greeted her back cheerfully.  
  
"I'm going off somewhere for today. Do you want to come with me or do you want to stay here?" she asked, laughing when Dewgong barked while rushing over to her. "I guess I can't keep you away from me huh?" she smiled as she rubbed her cheek against the Dewgong's. "C'mon. we better get going," she returned the pokemon into its pokeball.  
  
"Ready to go?" Brock got up, replacing the phone on the cradle. "I called a cab. It'll be faster," he went on as Misty watched him return the phone with a slight bit of interest.  
  
"Okay let's go..." she stuck Dewgong's pokeball onto her belt, before sticking her fingers into her pockets and leaving the house, waiting for Brock to go so that she could lock the door.  
  
"Still so much like a tomboy," Brock muttered cheerfully, making sure that Misty didn't hear him. "Hurry up Misty, the cab's here," he turned to hurry Misty who nodded and placed her wallet back into her bag.  
  
"Cerulean airport please," Brock told the driver, while Misty piled into the backseat where she promptly fell asleep again.  
  
"Hey Erica," Brock called his fellow gym leader after their destination had been appointed. "Misty's here with me, in the back seat sleeping. Yeah. She was still sleeping when I woke here up. Wonder why'd she'd stay up so late though," he went on. "I'll see you later then," he hung up.  
  
The group were gathered around a large round table made of marble which glowed partially under the overhead lights. Out of the usual fourteen seats, however, only ten were present.  
  
"Once again, another of our number has been assassinated," Lance announced to the gathered, who absorbed the news stoically. "He was killed last morning, while he was out buying stuff. Not that that was important," he continued. "Currently, we have lost four of our respected gym leaders."  
  
"Why are we being targeted anyway?" Erica asked from her seat.  
  
"We don't know," Bruno answered her from his meditative position on the floor a short distance away from the table to allow everybody to see him. "We found no traces of anyone who has a grudge against them, though we suspect that it is the work of Team Rocket."  
  
"A reasonable deduction," Brock nodded as he crossed his arms across his chest, his leg one over another. "So there's no connection among each killing that you found yet?" he asked, understanding Bruno's reasoning. When he traveled with Misty, he was always the one who kept his cool and reasoning.  
  
"Not that we know of, currently," Lance nodded in Brock's direction. "If it was the work of Team Rocket, it would be a very high leveled operation, considering that none of our spies knew about it."  
  
"Then why don't we, like, find a way to, like, look for the assassin? Like, using psychic or ghost pokemon?" Violet asked brightly.  
  
Sabrina, who had been listening to this conversation close eyed, opened them to give the cerulean sister a steely look. "We tried, but it won't work. Apparently, someone is blocking us or he doesn't seem to have a soul."  
  
"Someone as powerful as, like, you and Agatha can get, like, blocked?" Lily asked in slight astonishment.  
  
"We are powerful but there are always people who are better," Agatha told her in a sagely manner, which could be attributed to her age. "Even my ghost pokemon cannot find the assassin. They tell me that there is emptiness where he should be."  
  
"Which means that he cannot be found until he wishes to be," Lorelei added. "For now, we advise you to exercise caution. Especially when you leave the gym or your house."  
  
"Now that we have conferred regarding these murders, we shall move on to your gyms. They are faring well, I guess?" Lance looked at the seven gym leaders, his gaze lingering on the cerulean sisters.  
  
"Like, yeah," Daisy replied hastily, causing Brock to snicker. She glared at him as Lance shot him a rebuking look.  
  
The other leaders all replied likewise, and Bruno nodded in satisfaction. However, they knew that there is a pressing problem. Who are going to replace the dead members, they all had that though running through their minds.  
  
"If there's nothing else that matters, this meeting is adjourned. Like before, we hope that you will maintain your vigilance and stay safe," Lance told them. One by one, the gym leaders and members of the Elite Four got up and left the table. Misty, however, stayed at the table. "Is something the matter, Misty?" Lance asked, steeping his fingers as he regarded her.  
  
The redhead did not reply, but still looked down at the table, causing Lance to cock an eyebrow. Slowly, he got up and approached her, calling her name again. When she did not reply, he nearly thought that she was dead, being poisoned or by some other way. However, as he shook her shoulder vigorously, she suddenly looked up, a look of mild fright plastered on her face for that moment.  
  
"Is something the matter?" Lance repeated his question, hiding the relief he had that she wasn't dead.  
  
"N-no," Misty stammered, as she looked at the table once again, her cheeks flushing. However, she was suddenly struck by a thought. "Lance, you recognize every pokemon there is in this continent, right?"  
  
Lance nodded as the corner of his mouth twitched at the silliness of the question. One did not reach his position by simply winning.  
  
"Do you know of a kind of dragon pokemon that looks like a medieval dragon? Resembles a Charizard but it's.... different, and black in color." She frowned. "I don't know how to describe it, and it can use fire and lightning type attacks."  
  
Lance ran through his memory. As far as he knew, there were only a few dragon types. There was Charizard, Gyarados, Dratini, Dragonair, Dragonite, and the extinct Aerodactyl which Blaine had helped him resurrect. "I do not recognize that creature. Why is it that you ask me that?"  
  
Misty sighed and rubbed her temple. "I happened to be challenged by this guy, who used that pokemon and one other to defeat me," she told the leader of the Elite Four reluctantly.  
  
"Did you use the Gyarados I gave you? It should be strong enough to knock out any pokemon," Lance frowned. Before Misty had settled down to help her sisters, the cerulean gym was hopeless. However, it was one of the toughest gyms around now.  
  
"I did, but it was Gyarados who was knocked out first," Misty bowed her head in embarrassment. "I used him before using Dewgong."  
  
Lance was flabbergasted. "You mean, Gyarados was defeated?" he asked. "That pokemon must be very strong to be able to do that," he muttered when Misty nodded, still looking at her lap.  
  
"It didn't matter if that guy and his pokemon were strong enough to defeat me, but I seriously hate him!" Misty declared, looking at Lance so suddenly that he flinched slightly.  
  
"Why?"  
  
Misty clenched her fist furiously as she answered him. "Because that son of a bitch actually HURT Dewgong," she growled, looking as though she would like to have her challenger's neck in her grasp now. "He actually caused Dewgong to be cut!"  
  
"How did that happen? Dewgong's' are know for their thick hide and blubber," Lance reminded her.  
  
"You tell me! He sent out a pokemon that created an ice wall with spikes running out of it and Dewgong injured himself when he couldn't avoid it in time!" she rose her voice, almost yelling outright.  
  
"I see... do not let such a simple matter stop you from doing your duty. I shall take him and his pokemon down if he challenges me," Lance laid a hand on Misty shoulder, causing her to calm down significantly.  
  
"I don't think he will. He didn't take a badge when he left," she told him flatly. "Alright! Keep you hair on!" she turned to yell at her sister who was asking if Misty wanted to spend a month trekking back home. Misty sweatdropped when Lily yelled at daisy that she was going to go bald over such a simple thing, causing the latter to yell and run all over the place asking everyone if she really was.  
  
"Anyway, thanks for understanding. I really hate him! He doesn't give a damn about my pokemon and didn't even apologize," she informed Lance. "I got to go. See you," she turned and headed to where her friends and sisters were.  
  
Lance watched her walk- stalk, Lance thought- away from him. As soon as she was out of sight, he smiled. "You don't know it, but you're seriously attractive," he told the empty place, unaware as an observer narrowed his(her?) eyes at his statement before leaving.  
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Author's notes again:  
  
Okay. I've done this chapter and I'm rather proud of myself for having managed to. Because of my mother, who happens to wish to confiscate my keyboard and mouse, I may not have a chance to work on my next chapter. Rest assured, though. I promise that I will put up a next chapter, but please wait for it!  
  
Anyway, one question to ask you . Would you like to have Ash fall unconscious or would you like him to be caught in a situation first?(Note: I might not be able to write action/adventure very well, so please forgive me if you think it sucks) Anyway, please review and tell me which situation I should work on first.  
  
Once again, I would like to thank Optimus Magnus who helped me out whenever I need, and to all your reviews which helped me too! Thank you!!!  
  
P.S. Ayumi Hamasaki rocks man. I'm listening to her songs even as I write. Whoever hadn't heard of her should listen to her music!


	5. Chapter 5

Genesis Of A Creation  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Author's notes: This should've came out earlier, but my brother jammed up my computer and now I have to redo EVERYTHING because, THAT JERK CAUSED ME TO HAVE TO WIPE OUT THE COMP'S DRIVE!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Sorry for ranting, but it's the only way I actually get happy enough. Anyway, thanks to everyone I have yet to thank because of his/her help. And everyone whom I have already thanked.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Dedicated to Eve, whom I hope will stop her alcoholic obsession and revert back to the happy cheerful girl whom I admire and like, though I still do.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
A thin wire hung, an empty void of darkness on one side, a blanket of white on the other. A pathway that stretch out to two sides, one dark and the other, light. Souls stood on the placed between the dark and light.  
  
Each of them unaware of this while in the living mortal world, there are others who observed without interfering. For it was not their way...  
  
They shifted their focus to one particular soul. It was lost, yet it had a purpose. They turned to another, which was identical, but was turning into the black void. Two so similar, yet different due to the circumstances.  
  
They knew that once again, they would have to interfere. For that fate of all the other souls depended on those two. One was the One, with a purpose that not even they could fulfill. The other also had a purpose, similar yet different.  
  
Once again, their object of interest changed to another, this time the one who would either cause the other two to destroy the world, or to save it. The soul did not know it, but the sub-consciousness of this soul is in conflict. For the world was not the one the soul knew...  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Ash replaced the book onto his bookshelf as he pondered some of the theories. However, like the past few days, nothing could occupy his mind other than that scene in the cerulean gym.  
  
He could not forget the way the gym leader had stopped the battle, even though Dewgong should be made to continue fighting, as accordance to the rules. That gym leader had not even though about herself as she crossed the ice and water, both of which could freeze her.  
  
He wondered why had she been so concerned about that pokemon. He had been told by Giovanni that pokemons are but tools to be used, for they are multiple in numbers, each species breeding like rabbits save for a few.  
  
What did she regard them as was one of the few questions Ash asked himself, for he was more intelligent than most thought him. Indeed, there were many things about himself and his thoughts that Giovanni knew nothing about.  
  
Ash shook his head. She was special was something he told himself. He would try to observe her if possible, for she... was not like anyone he had met before.  
  
But now, he needed to go on a mission to retrieve the Orb of Longiness. What Giovanni wanted it for was something he would not care to ask. Trying to know ore than the leader gave was something Ash did not appreciate, for it meant that it was something more you can use against him.  
  
He got up, throwing on his cloak like it was part of him, grabbing the belt which held his pokemon and other items he might require, and he left the room.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Which mother fucker is it?!" Misty growled angrily as she stumbled out of bed as the phone continued to ring. Misty made up her find to curse that person and hang up if it's a call for no rhyme or reason.  
  
Almost tripping over the rug which laid on the ground in front of her door, she blindly groped for the receiver, her free hand searching for the video switch. "Misty Waterflower, please call back in the morning if this is not a prank call. If it is, FUCK OFF! You don't wanna mess with me," she growled.  
  
"I would suggest you check your language Miss Waterflower," Lorelei's image appeared on the screen as Misty finally hit the on button. "You and your sisters have been ordered to come to the headquarters immediately. Everything will be explained once you are here."  
  
Misty cracked open her eyes, squinting at the bright light shining into her face. "Oh. Sorry about that," she yawned. "I'll get my sisters up," she replaced the receiver without waiting for any other reply from the elite trainer.  
  
She took a breath ready to yell at her sisters, but thought better of it as a sneaky idea entered her head. Quickly, she returned to her room to get her stuff, before slinking into the bathroom for a quick shower. Now was her chance to see her sisters clamber over who was going to get the shower first...  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Misty brought one hand to her mouth as her stomach rolled in nausea. The other was brought up to massage her temple in a bid to massage the dizziness away. Seeing a chair in front of her, she grabbed the back of the chair, slowly letting herself down onto the seat.  
  
Sabrina watched her without interest as Erica and Brock hurried over to assist her. "You alright?" Brock asked her. Misty continued to hold her hand to her mouth, but nodded. Misty then turned to Erica and smiled thankfully as the Celadon gym leader offered her a bit of perfume which Erica explained was used to sooth nauseouness.  
  
"You are in my seat."  
  
Misty looked up at the owner of the voice, before standing up. "Sorry Lorelei. I just felt ill after that teleportation..." Misty explained, as she got up to allow the woman to retain her seat.  
  
"Lorelei, it won't kill you to let someone else sit there," Lance admonished her as he took his own, looking at his colleague before smiling at Misty. "You shouldn't move about too much if you feel unwell," he told her.  
  
"B-but," she stuttered, looking back and forth between the two, unsure about her position. "I think I better return to my place..." she trailed off in shock as Lance gently grasped her arm and pulled her down onto the seat. Lorelei lingered next to Misty for a moment more, before taking the place next to Agatha.  
  
"I have called all of you here because we have received a tip-off about a forthcoming attempt to steal the Orb of Longiness, which is a protected artifact we keep at the National Kanto museum," Lance started announcing once Lorelei speared to be comfortable.  
  
"It had been protected for generations ever since it has been found. It was rumored to have contain dark powers, but it is unproven as of yet. In either case, the elders have stated that the orb is never to be taken away, and I have every intention to uphold that task," Lance looked at everyone, most of whom appeared rather interested.  
  
"We are to go to the museum, in case someone really does attempt to steal the orb. I believe that there is a high probability that the attempt will take place today, for my sources are hardly wrong," he stated. There was a fierceness in his voice which seemed to dare somebody to tell him that his words were wrong.  
  
"We'll be split into teams. Daisy, Lily, Violet, you're together. Erica, Brock, Misty, team two. Sabrina takes north and Lorelei will take the eastern gate. I'll be monitoring the situation while patrolling the entire premises," he once again looked at each person in turn who nodded in agreement.  
  
"Anyone without flying pokemon should find someone who has, or they can teleport with Sabrina," Lance told them. Misty turned green when she heard that, but hid the discomfort with others. "Would you like to ride with me?" Lance, who sensed and understood how she felt about teleportation, offered.  
  
"Umm... sure, thanks," Misty hesitated, but seeing that Erica's Pidgeot was occupied by Brock and her, and her sisters were going to teleport, she had little choice but to agree. She turned to follow Lance... and missed the glances everyone was shooting the two.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Ash switched the vision on his glasses, the color of the ground lit up, enabling him to see through the darkness. He pulled on his hood, and released both pokemon. They would be able to back him up if he needed help. It was virtually unneeded, but it was better to be safe. People had been killed because of such reasons.  
  
He approached the museum, taking pains to keep himself low as he headed for the loading and unloading bay. Straining his ears, he heard nothing, but he did not throw caution to the wind.  
  
Once he entered the loading bay, he felt for his gun. He hoped that he need not use it, but one should expect the unexpected. In his mind, he smirked in irony. To expect the unexpected made the unexpected, expected.  
  
He accessed the map which quickly appeared in his glasses, double checking his location and the room where the orb could be found. Sure that he had everything planned, he quickly but quietly strode along the corridors, pausing around corners.  
  
It did not take him long to find the lobby, where he had to ascend a flight of stairs to reach his destination. His keen ears prickled, as footsteps approached. He returned to his previous corner, a scowl momentarily appearing on his face. As he entered deeper into the museum, there were more and more guards. And it appeared to him that there were more than the usual.  
  
Once the guards had cleared the area, he headed for the stairs, taking advantage of the high pillars and exhibits, blending into the shadow. As he approached the foot of the stairs, he began to be more cautious, for he would be in plain view once he started going up.  
  
For several minutes, he stayed hidden, unmoving, listening for any heel- drop, and sound which resembled someone approaching. Nothing changed, and he decided to sprint up the stairs, taking the chance that he might be heard slightly. He would rather make some noise to be out of sight than to be silent only to be found.  
  
He straightened up, and as he was about to set foot on the stairs, an explosion was heard outside. He paused for half a second, and that time was all it needed for someone, who was coming out of a room to investigate, to spot him.  
  
"Hey! Who are you? What are you doing here?" that person demanded.  
  
Ash cursed, and sprinted up the stairs hoping to lose that guard. However, someone appeared to be conspiring against him, for the moment her reached the top, and tried to enter the first door, he collided into someone else.  
  
He quickly recovered, and noticed the person he had crashed into. He growled, pulling out his gun and got behind her where he threw an arm around her neck, pointing the gun at her temple. He had never done this, but this unfortunate meeting had taken too much time for him to do otherwise.  
  
The woman uttered a gasp of surprise as Ash drew her closer to himself. The door crashed inward as someone kicked it open, a gun pointed at him and his hostage. "Oh shit," the guard cursed, as he saw the state everyone involved were in.  
  
Ash continued to keep the gun pointed at his hostage. He only hoped that he won't have to use it. But if forced to, he would...  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Author's notes again:  
  
Okay. Another chapter down and I hope that you've enjoyed it. I haven't. This chapter was nothing compared to the one before the comp was erased, and I couldn't remember the exact wordings of the first chapter 5.  
  
I hope that the next chapter will be better, and it'll seriously help if you people review. Fortunately for me, my brother won't be touching the computer anytime this year, but the next chapter will take some time to come out. My mom's gonna keep the keyboard and mouse. _  
  
This chapter's inquiry from you is, who wants Pikachu to enter the scene, and how you think it should, if you want him back. And if Pikachu isn't going to be in the picture, who do you think you would like to be Ash's main pokemon? Halgre or Drakon?  
  
Please review and tell me your choices and reasons, if possible.  
  
Grypheon 


	6. Chapter 6

"You're coming with me," Ash growled at his hostage who returned a glare but nodded. He glared at the guard and approached him. As he had predicted, the guard did not know what to do without orders from higher authority.

Each time he took a step closer to the guard, he would take one step back. Ash calculated his chances. He might be able to get to the orb if nothing were to interrupt, and if he moved fast. He broadened his strides, causing his hostage to stumble slightly.

Impatiently, he waited for her to right herself, before pulling her out of the room to the hallway, where more security people had gathered. Keeping one eye out for his back, he moved backwards, tracking his progress through his glasses.

It was fortunate he had tuned his hearing to his surroundings. Ash leapt backwards, straining himself to carry his hostage along, so as not to let her be injured. Recovering, he looked upwards furiously at Celadon Gym leader Erika, and Lorelei. His hostage was staring at him blankly in shock, for she had not anticipated such a movement.

"Stop him you fools! What are you waiting for?" Lorelei's spoke to the guards. However, it was Erika who answered her.

"He's got a hostage, Lorelei. You want him to kill her?!" she almost yelled at the elite leader.

Ash quickly pulled his hostage back to her feet, and began dragging her along. As always, Murphy's law had struck and he could only hope that he would still be able to accomplish what he came here for.

"Gun him down! Sacrifice her if you need to! We can't have the orb fall into his hands!" Lorelei ordered, totally ignoring Erika's outburst. "This is a direct order from your superior!"

Erika did not get a chance to protest, as the security started shooting at Ash and his target. Quickly accessing his situation, he pushed his hostage behind a wide pillar, before taking cover behind it as well. Leaning over, he released a few quick shots before retreating back into the safety of the pillar.

"You stay low. They'll come for you," Ash muttered to his hostage, who gapped at him incredulously. Before she could speak, he quickly ran off, the ping of the bullets fading towards the direction he ran off.

Once he had turned the corner, the guards followed, running past the pillar trying not to let him out of their sight. Misty peeked out behind the pillar, causing Erika to shriek with joy as she ran over to hug her friend.

The reunion was short, however, as the wall broke open to reveal a Dragonite which crashed onto the opposite wall. Lance got up from where he had fallen off Dragonite, just in time to avoid a blast of orange flames.

"What the hell's going on?" he yelled at the two women who stared at the wall. "Come on. We better get out of here!"

Ash laid against the wall as he observed his injuries. He was in rather bad condition, being overwhelmed by so many guards. Some had even attacked from above. Because of that, his right arm now had a bullet wound, while blood stained his shirt from the deep slash he received.

He knew that he had failed this mission. He had blundered and top to it off, he was hurt. He knew he could not try to contact his pokemon, until he was close enough to them, or Sabrina would be able to detect his position.

Blood caked hands scrabbling the tiled wall, Ash got up slowly and headed for the door. As soon as he reached the wooden barrier, it blasted open as long pieces of ice broke through the flimsy material. The javelins had been tossed so hard that Ash found himself hitting the wall he had got up from. However, instead of sliding to the ground, he was pinned against the wall.

"So how does it feel, intruder?" Lorelei asked, a hint of triumphant evident in her voice. "We do not tolerate people like you, as you can see."

Ash chose not to answer her, as he stared at her. Each passing moment made him angrier, till his vision was red with his fury. This was the one that was willing to sacrifice one of her pack. To him, every body in the team contributed to success, if they are competent enough. And she was willing to throw away one of them, just for the sake of killing him.

"Kill him," Lorelei ordered her Cloister, which obeyed and fired several more rounds of ice cannon at Ash, his body jerking each time a spike entered him.

"What's going on?" Lance approached her, just as she turned away.

"I got rid of the intruder," she answered simply, before leaving the scene. Lance gapped at her statement, before entering the room to see for himself. He then cringe, when he saw Ash's chest still heaving, but each movement getting slower until it stopped gradually.

That's a gawd awfully way to die, he thought to himself, as he looked at Ash suffer before his death, doing nothing to either kill him more quickly, or to help him. Only after the chest stopped moving, did he realize his mistake. "Should've kept him alive for interrogation," he muttered to himself as other started to approach him.

Misty turned away from the scene as a wave of nausea threatened to engulf her. It wasn't all due to the view in front of her, however. It was mainly due to the fact that he was now dead, because he let her go. Misty wondered, as she headed back to the lounge, why hadn't him used her as a shield. He could've survived longer if he did, maybe even enough to get away.

Lance wasn't as focused on the intruder, instead talking about the two pokemon he had battled. Misty wasn't surprised as he described how they had taken his Dragonite's hyper beam shots with ease. What surprised her was that no one else but Brock seemed to take much interest in the conversation.

Glancing out the window, Misty looked at the two pokemon staying out of the building, both of them unrestrained but unmoving. She stared at them, and she could've sworn they returned the look, had she known better that they couldn't see her from outside.

"Say, Lance?" she turned to the leader of their little group. "Do you think I can check out those two pokemon?" she inclined her chin out the window, indicating her plan to go outside.

Lance stared at her in shock. "I don't know... they're really dangerous, and I don't to see you hurt," he told her, running his hand up against his fringe, pushing it back. "Even if they seemed to have stopped attacking, we can't be sure of their plans."

Misty nodded, and headed for the door. "I'll take care of myself," she assured him, before closing the door behind her. With quick steps, she left the museum, which was still in a rather high state of alert in case their intruder had brought 'friends'. As Misty rounded the side of the building, the dragon and tiger like creatures turned to her sharply, before relaxing, settling themselves back on the grass.

To say that she was puzzled would be an understatement. Those two had reacted hostilely when other people got even fifty meters close to them. Yet here they were, treating her as though she was nothing but a common ant they saw often enough. Still cautious, she closed the distance between the pokemon and her slowly.

Not that she was close enough, she could see how big they really were. Halgre was almost least twice as tall as her, and Eidra was almost the size of a small bus. "Um... hey," she greeted uncertainly, the two turning their attention to her without a look of hostility.

"Grr..." Halgre let out a low growl in greeting, as Eidra did. However, Eidra let out a small bellow instead.

"I know I probably won't understand you, but I've been wondering about your master..." Misty went on, taking their sounding as tokens of her safety. "For one thing, I don't know his name, and he... I don't know. That first time I saw met him, I really hated him, cause he hurt my Dewgong..." Misty told the two, which came closer to her and settled themselves around.

"This is only the second time I saw him, but he seems to have changed a little... for one, he didn't use me as a human shield, even when he could. And now he's dead," she said quietly. "I guess you two already know that... So what are you two going to do now?"

Eidra growled in response, reminding Misty of the fact that she couldn't understand them. "I'm sorry. I forgot I can't understand... how about this? If Lance allows, will you be my pokemon? It may be silly, but I guess I should take care of that challenger's pokemon. After all, he didn't hurt me."

Halgre dipped his head, as though in agreement. Eidra then slowly approached Misty, staring at her straight in her eyes. Misty was mystified and drawn by the black dragon's glowing amber eyes, unable to pull herself away, even when she heard a commotion back at the museum.

Slowly, her eyelids fell, Halgre gently letting her down onto the grass. The two pokemon then turned to look at the building where their master was. They knew that Ash was not normal, and they were not worried. And they knew that he found this woman different. That in itself allowed them to trust her...

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Author's notes again:

That's the end of chapter six! I think I'm moving along fine, but I'm still developing ideas, each making this plot more and more interesting.(To me, at least) anyway, just tell me if you have any ideas or suggestions. For a few of you who e-mail me... well, I don't have much time to reply if I want to work on the fic so forgive me.

For those looking for a bit of action in my story, I have to say that I don't really write action/adventure, so please don flame. (Does the wobbefet face)

I would like to take this chance to once again thank Optimus Magnus for his help, and to Sierra for her support. And all those people out there who might have read this story, irregardless of comments.

Please review!

Grypheon


	7. Chapter 7

Alter Persona  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon! I own Drakon and Halgre though. ^_^  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Author's notes:  
  
Glad to see that some people like this story! Thanks everyone for their support for this story! It's my best work, and I'm glad others like it.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Lance stood up abruptly as a one of the guards burst into the room, his left arm nothing but a bleeding stump. "What the fuck is going on outside?!" he demanded, as more screams of pain and gunfire became more evident now that the door was open.  
  
"T-the intruder... sir," the guard gasped almost going into shock. "He's slaughtering us all!"  
  
"But it can't be! He's dead and I saw it with my own eyes!" Lance yelled at him, before heading out the door, the rest of the gym leaders more inclined to stay within the room. They definitely did not want to meet whatever did that to the guard's arm.  
  
"Dead am I?" a low dangerous voice answered him from above. Lance glanced upwards, to see the intruder- whom he had yet to know the name- clinging onto the ceiling, looking down at him like a lizard at home. As shots pelted the concrete of the ceiling, Ash deftly strafed away, heading to where the firers were.  
  
As Ash started on the guards, Lance had to look away, as did Erika and Brock who were peering over his shoulder. Only after silence had descended, Lance looked at Ash again. The wall, the ground and certain parts of the ceiling were painted with blood from the numerous bodies laying on the ground missing limbs, usually the head.  
  
With a soft thump, Ash released his grip on the ceiling, landing on the carpet-soaked with the crimson red substance- before looking at Lance with a smirk plastered on his face. "Apparently, you've been leading this little group trainers against me," he came closer slowly, pushing his sunglasses higher up the bridge of his nose.  
  
"We had to protect the orb from thieves of any kind. Especially one from Team Rocket," Lance replied strongly, putting up a brave front. However, he had already guessed that this intruder was no normal person...  
  
"But I do believe that this is what you were intending to protect?" Ash held up a smooth round ball, make of a kind of stone. "Rather nice of you to leave me in the store just next to the chamber. Or maybe it was Lorelei?" he returned the black stone into one of his pockets, regarding the woman who had came out to join Lance.  
  
For the few seconds which stretched painfully for Lance, Lorelei and the intruder seemed to observe each other. However, because of the dark glasses both were wearing, they could not tell.  
  
"I do not appreciate anyone trying to kill me, but I've got to let you go this time," Ash muttered loud enough for them to hear, before looking into the room, where Misty's sisters were holding onto each other tightly, and the other gym leaders were. "I would like Erika to accompany for a while. And it's a statement, not a request."  
  
"Why do you want her to go with you?" Brock demanded, crossing his arms. "Do you want to use her as a hostage like you did to Misty?" he added, before realizing who had been missing. "Where is Misty anyway?! If you've done anything to her...."  
  
"I do not need a hostage to leave this place. As for Miss Waterflower, she is fine. And I give you my word that I shall not harm Erika, even if you do not trust me," Ash told Brock coldly.  
  
Erika took a step forward. "I'll take your word for it," she announced to Ash, much to Lance and Brock's shock and apparent wish to protest. "But on the condition you take me to my friend," she added, her arms crossed.  
  
Ash nodded, before lowering his glasses slightly for a moment. It was enough to stop Lance and Brock holding Erika back. There was an aura of danger which seemed to enshroud them, when they saw his eyes. Meekly, the two men stayed in their place but watched as Erika closed the distance between Ash and herself.  
  
There was silence as Ash turned and lead the way out of the museum. Not that either of them wanted to start a conversation with each other. But Erika was worried for her friend. Misty could've been killed by this man, who did not use her as a shield, releasing her instead. He had mercilessly killed off those guards, yet he promised not to harm her.  
  
"I want you to promise me," Ash began, startling the woman.  
  
"What do you want me to promise? Not that I will," she replied, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes. As she did, she wondered why the two guys next to her had not stopped her... she knew that he adjusted his glasses, but she knew nothing beyond that.  
  
He chose not to reply, instead heading for his pokemon, both of whom parted to make way for him. "Miss Waterflower is different from all of you, in a way we do not know. But it appears that... she might have an important role in the future," he finally replied, dropping on one knee and picked Misty up.  
  
Erika looked at him in bewilderment. She had no idea what he was talking about, and she wondered why had Misty fallen asleep here. With this stranger's pokemon too! "Is she alright?" she demanded quietly as she looked at Misty's limp form, unmoving even when he picked her up.  
  
"She's fine. I had my pokemon make her fall asleep, so that she won't see what happened inside," Ash informed Erika who breathed a sigh of relief. "I want you to look after her well. As of now, the only reason I can say, and know of, is that she is different to us," he turned and laid Misty, with a delicacy which surprised Erika, on the ground.  
  
Kneeling down, she cradled her friend close to her. "That's the promise?" Erika raised an eyebrow and relaxed when he nodded. "Very well. I promise. I won't let her fall into any harm anyway. She's my best friend."  
  
"I'll take your word for it," he muttered, before climbing onto the dragon as he retrieved the tiger-like pokemon. Several wing beats later, he was airborne, and flying away from the museum.  
  
"What happened?" Lance inquired urgently as the rest of the group caught up with her, freed from Ash's apparent 'hypnotism'.  
  
"Nothing," Erika answered, pulling Misty to her feet, the latter still sleeping soundly. "Let's go back. We have to put her in bed," she looked at Brock pointedly, who scooped Misty up easily. "It's been one hell of a day..."  
  
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"The mission was successful, although the elites and the gym leaders appeared to have been tipped off by somebody who knows our plans," Ash reported to Giovanni, who nodded. "You should ferret whoever what is, before they interfere in any more of your plans."  
  
Giovanni nodded, dismissing Ash, before returning to the files on his table. Ash saluted, and returned to his own room. Taking off his cloak, he laid down on his bed before placing his glasses on the small table next to his bed. Ash's golden amber eyes shone in the yellow light.  
  
Gradually, as his eyelids closed, the color grew in intensity, until it reverted back to his usual crimson red. Sleep descended upon him, but it was restless, as dreams bombarded him.  
  
^ Flashback ^  
  
He felt little pain as his body was pierced with sharp pointed ice, adding to those already in him. Blood seeped from his wound onto the clear transparent ice, quickly running under it, hanging on the tip like dew on grass.  
  
You mustn't die yet  
  
Ash tried in vain to clear his vision. What was going on, he did not know, as darkness blindfolded him from everything. He knew he should not be angry, but he was, for reasons he did not know.  
  
You must protect her, for she is special, different from the others. Like you  
  
Who was the voice, Ash wanted to ask, but he had no energy to speak. What did that person mean but she is different? Who? Each word Ash heard, infuriated him more. But Ash did not know who, what, or why is he feeling like this. Was it his subconscious playing tricks on him?  
  
I know you are tired. Rest, and I will help you  
  
The lure of a chance to rest was tempting for him, but he did not want to rest yet. He had to complete the mission. Or he would die trying. He did not like failure and neither did Giovanni.  
  
Furthermore, he had to ensure Waterflower's safety. Did the others not realize her difference that they were willing to kill her to get to him? Or was it only himself, who had never seen anyone else act like her?  
  
Believe in me. I shall settle everything...  
  
Ash tried his best to keep awake, but the soft, soothing sound lulled him, making him know nothing, as he let the voice control him.  
  
When he opened is eyes again, he saw himself pulling out the ice, even though he was not in control of his body. Tossing the ice to the ground, he looked at the numerous injuries on his body. The blood had stanched, the flesh quickly growing back to seal the holes with astonishing speed.  
  
Snarling, Ash exited the door, to be met by two very shocked, very stunned guards who did not move for a second. But it was enough for him, as he launched himself at them, only partially aware that his arms had changed, sporting elbow blades which was part of his own arm.  
  
Using swift, quick strokes, he sliced off the head of one guard, severing the arm of the other. He hastened to silence the scream of the not yet dead guard, but the guard's screams had attracted the others. Still unable to control his body, Ash found himself entering the room next to the one he had came out of, to see a stone which appeared to have been made of endless, absorbing darkness.  
  
He broke the glass and pocketed it, before leaping onto the ceiling, his fingers changing into claws like an alien's. Quietly, he maneuvered to hang over the entrance of the room, setting an ambush. All he could remember beyond that was blood, blood and more blood, his body feeling intoxicated if he tasted even a single drop of the coppery liquid...  
  
^ End Flashback ^  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
author's notes again:  
  
That's chapter 7 for you. This chapter doesn't seem like much, but it might reveal some very small details I need to tell myself to make the story proceed. Sorry if this chapter sucks. I'll do my best for the next chapter! ^_^  
  
Some of you noticed that I changed the title. I thought the old one didn't seem correct for this story, so I changed it. Wonder if I have to change it anymore. Anyway, please review! As always, ideas are welcomed! 


	8. Chapter 8

Alter Persona

Disclaimer: don own pokemon, neva owned pokemon. TT

Author's notes: future chapters will be coming more slowly, because my exams are popping up. This means that other than early in the morning, I probably won't get other times to work on this. Thanks to everyone for the support!

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Ash appeared to be indifferent, but he was very impatient, and very annoyed. As a matter of fact, it was accelerating to the point of anger if this kept up. As the Tauros charged towards him, he strafed, causing it to miss by centimeters. He had been doing this for the past one and a half hour, but the Tauros seemed to keep coming, and coming.

He sidestepped the path again, making the Tauros do what it had been doing the past hour and a half. Missing him. Finally the Tauros paused, snorting and pawing the ground as it rested. Ash quickly tried to near it, not wanting to give it too much time to recover energy.

As he came closer, the pokemon lowered its head and charged. Contrary to what Ash had assumed, it was faking fatigue to try to run the human down when he lowered his defenses.

Ash quickly twisted away from the raging Tauros, but did not manage to move away in time. He grunted as he was gored in the side of his stomach, dropping to one knee. His already crimson eyes seemed to flare in anger as he got to his feet. The Tauros was going to pay. No one made him waste energy and injure him. He didn't care about whatever fucking orders Giovanni had given him.

He looked up just as the Tauros plowed into him, not stopping even though it felt the contact. Dust was thrown up like a fog as Ash's boots dug into the ground. It kept charging, until finally, there was the crunch of a body colliding against the concrete wall, then the crunch as the wall became indented.

The Tauros backed away to observe its kill. But Ash stood up calmly, throwing his ruined glasses away. The Tauros stopped moving to stare at him. It knew no pokemon could survive his charge, but this human still stood, seemingly uninjured.

Ash lifted his hand, licking the blood off his hand. His eyes were narrowed, the black pupils contracted to slits, like a cat, his iris and white of his eyes a shiny amber. He watched unconcerned, as the Tauros ran off to the other side of the field, before charging once again.

The Tauros closed the distance with astonishing quickness. Fifty meters, forty, thirty, twenty, ten, five...

Ka-Shing!

The Tauros had stopped directly in front of Ash, unmoving. Slowly, as Ash retracted the blade back into the form of his human hand, the corpse falling to the ground with a thud. He smirked, as he licked the blood off his hand, his face tilted upwards, eyes half closed in bliss as the warm blood touched his tongue.

The taste of the blood was intoxicating, making feel like drug users after their dose. The scent of blood made him crave for it, pulling him to the corpse. Slowly, he extended his finger to the open wound between the creature's shoulder blades. As he tasted the coppery substance once again, his craving took over. And he did not stop it.

His hands changed into claws which he used to rip open the corpse, his jaws and teeth changing, widening, sharpening. After the process was over, he bent over it, tearing into the flesh, trying to reach the choicest of parts. Blood leaked and seeped into the ground, as he continued to rip out the flesh, gulping them down without much chewing.

The next hour was spent fulfilling his appetite. As he began to feel more full, control also started to return to him slowly. His eyes gradually changed back to crimson, before what he had done finally hit him full in the face. He knew that he needed to inquire about this. He never should've waited for so long. And there was only one person who could answer his questions.

"What is going on, Giovanni?" Ash asked, his eyes glowing like a ruby within the darkness of the leader's office. "You know what happened, don't you?"

"Indeed," Giovanni replied. "Have you only realized this today?" he went on, face shrouded by the impenetratable darkness.

"No. I realized this the day I went to get the orb. I did not want to suspect you, but what I did today was... unforgivable to myself. I want to know what you've done to me. I want to know exactly what happened over a year ago."

"If that is what you insist. You have of heard the book 'Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde', have you not?" Giovanni asked, and received a nod in reply. "Like in the story, I believe that there are two sides to a person. One who is partially good and partially evil, and one that is purely evil."

"Contrary to what you believe that we are, Team Rocket is not some stupid 'earth-saving' organization. I intend to conquer the world, and rule it. But with the pathetic peace loving people, my dream will never be fulfilled. So, I had my scientists work on a way to release the evil side of a human. You are the first of our specimens. It didn't really matter that you did not know give us permission to experiment on you, considering that you are nothing but a clone."

Ash stepped back in surprise. He was a clone?

"Yes. You are a clone of the real Ash, whom we killed over two and a half years ago. He had not been supportive of us, so we decided to use him. We knew that persuasion or force would not bring him to us, so we decided to clone him, and kill him."

Ash narrowed his eyes. He was a clone. Nothing but a fucking clone. But...

"Nothing had happened after our experimenting, but I allowed you to live. Because even if you were unsuccessful, you would make a valuable addition to Team Rocket, for we had genetically enhanced your physical body."

He had a soul of his own. Did clones have them? And what had they given him?

"It appears that, however, your Alter Persona, as I call them, was simply dormant, waiting for a time to come out. And it did when you went for that mission. But there appeared to be something wrong, for you managed to control yourself. I had hoped to control the Persona. I had been waiting since after that day, so see when will you come to ask me about it. And you never had."

An Alter Persona. What was it? Was it part of him? It appeared to be, but did not seem to be. And was it possible to control it?

"I do not claim to know exactly what is a Alter Persona. It had been accidentally discovered by one of my scientists who had found a manuscript which dates back a long time ago. But what had been most important, was that the script spoke about armies of pure evil. Thus, I was interested. And now, my interest has paid off," Giovanni ended.

"How so? You have yet to control me," Ash reminded him. "Why did you clone m- Ash?" he asked. "What exactly can my Alter Persona do? Why does it control me?"

Giovanni smirked. "Ash was actively campaigning against us. And we needed a test subject, so we created you. To suffer in his place. As for the latter questions, I do not know. And neither will you ever get to find out."

Ash narrowed his eyes again, as Giovanni snapped his fingers. It was fortunate his instinct took over, making him jump onto the ceiling as the swish of a sharp object cut through the air.

He found himself growling at whatever did that. He looked back at Giovanni, so see him still in his chair.

"I have found a way to overcome every problem, and now I control such a soldier. And I see you're getting introduced," he stated, sardonic pleasure in his voice.

Ash moved away quickly, before hearing a thump as something hit the place he was at. He was fighting a Persona Soldier, something he knew neither about, nor its abilities. He leapt at the sudden movement, both of them still on the wall. But he missed, his palm sticking back on the wall as he did not touch the enemy.

The soldier was fast. Maybe faster than he was. But he knew he had to get out of here. He could not see in the darkness, but the enemy could. And it gave him disadvantage over his foe. He leapt toward the door, only to find it closed by metal. The time taken for him to discover that made him vulnerable.

His back burned as claws slashed deep into his flesh. He twisted to throw the enemy off him, slamming his clawed hand into him - it- and making it fly and collide with the wall with a dull thud. He leaped.

Landing on it, he drove his claws into the enemy, irregardless of where it was. The enemy was powerful, but he was in a killing rage. His anger and frustration fueled his wish to kill, and nothing else but that.

He burrowed his claws, extracted them, and dug them in again and again, until his aggressor had stopped moving entirely. Only then did he get up slowly, shooting a look of hatred at Giovanni. Silent, he turned back to the door and slammed his claw-blades through the metal, and pulling them apart. He wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible.

Giovanni betrayed him. He was an experiment. He was not entirely human. So what was he? Ash could feel the other him in his mind. He did not know when he controlled himself, and when did his other personality took over. He had regained control, as though he had been the one killing all along. Then he realized. He should've taken a look at the creature first.

"Ung," he fell to his knees, both arms stretched in front of his, his palms flat on the floor. He did not know what was happening, but he knew that the faster he got out, the better. But he was not given a chance to do anything, before his arms gave way as he submitted to the darkness.

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Author's note again: Sorry for taking so long to get this chapter up, but I was having my exams, I had a writer's block, and my comp was wiped the third time. After this chapter, I will continue to work on this story, just not as quickly, or as often as when this story began. I hope you understand, and I thank you for your support. Till the next chapter then.


	9. Chapter 9

Alter Persona

Chapter 9

Author's notes: after 5 months ( O.o ) I've finally updated. That's because my school hasn't really let up, my mom isn't letting me use the comp, and I've been busy with my other works. My exams aren't over yet, so don't expect me to put up another chapter anytime soon. Still, I wonder how many of you believed that I would forget about this fic...

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Ash suddenly felt himself snap into consciousness, which felt very much like a sudden jerk one felt when they woke up from a dream whereby they were falling. "Uhh..." he moaned softly, as he tried to open his eyes. But he hadn't accounted for the time of the day, which caused him to snap his eyes shut as the sunlight assaulted his eyes.

Despite his arm feeling like lead, he lifted it and threw it over his eyes. Instantly, he felt a piece of cloth on his forehead. As his eyes gradually adjusted to the light around him, he wondered where he was. Once feeling up to it, he sat up, grabbing the cloth as he straightened. Must've overworked my muscles, he muttered to himself silently, as he felt his burning muscles protest.

The door opened, causing him to snap to attention and turn towards it. A familiar orange haired young woman entered the room, causing him to blink. "It's you..." he muttered as a way of greeting to Misty.

"Hi to you too," she replied sarcastically as she placed a small basin of water on the top of the drawer at the head of the bed. "So how're you feeling?"

"...... painful."

"Hmm. I'm not surprised, actually. When I found you, you were covered in so much bruise that you were almost blue black all over. What did you do to get those bruises anyway? Wrestle a Tauros?" she muttered. "Now hold still," she instructed as she sat down next to him on the bed and pulled her face close to his.

Ash appeared impassive, but in truth, he was wondering what was the woman doing. And he was also wondering why was his heart beating so quickly.

Misty pressed her forehead against his, her eyes closed. For a few moments, they stayed that way until she pulled away from him and nodded with satisfaction. "Your fever's lower now. But you still need more rest."

Ash ignored her words for the most part. "Where am I?" he questioned instead.

"Pallet town, in Professor Oak's lab," Misty informed him, taking his attitude in stride. If her former 'meetings' with him were any indication, she knew that he did things his way, and there would be little stopping him. "How did you end up so near here anyway?" she asked in turn, picking up and squeezing the water from the towel till it was damp, not wet.

Her attempt to put it on the man's forehead was stopped as Ash didn't reply but grabbed at her hand, pulling both the towel and her hand away from his face.

Misty felt her face flush and she quickly pulled her hand back. Ash who was now staring at her sideways did not seem to have noticed anything. But actually, he was wondering if she was feeling unwell, when he noticed her cheeks turn red. Gently dropping the towel back into the basin of water, she folded her hands on her lap and waited for him to answer his question.

However, Ash still chose to ignore her question. "Why did you save me?"

"Huh?"

"I'm a dangerous man wanted by the police, the gym leaders and the Elite Four for theft of a valuable artefact and mass murder. Why did you choose to save me instead of reporting me to the proper authorities?" Ash elaborated for her.

Misty had to smile a little at her 'patient's' statement. "We're talking pallet town here, which is literally in the middle of nowhere. This is only a small town, and there isn't any police station anywhere for miles around." She giggled, making Ash wonder if she was really sick. "Besides, I don't think anyone would've been able to get past your pokemon," she declared.

_'And you managed to?'_ Ash thought to himself. "I see." He turned to face her fully. "I..." he paused. The word he wanted to say felt weird, as he muttered it first to himself. "Thank you for taking care of me." There. He said it.

"You're welcome. Besides, I owe you one... You know, for back in the museum?" Misty reminded him. "Talking about the museum, weren't you supposed to be..."

"Dead? No," Ash lied. "I was seriously injured, but if they wanted to kill me, they should've double checked."

Misty found the statement odd, but she decided not to pursue the matter. "Whatever you say," she shrugged. "Better fix you something to eat. You've been sleeping the past couple of days." Getting up, she kicked the drawer lightly. "All your stuff and your pokeballs are in here. And your... more dangerous possessions are under the bed," she told him, picking up the basin and leaving the room.

Ash stared at the door after Misty had closed it behind her. She was a very strange person. She had hated him for injuring her pokemon, yet she had been taking care of him while he wasn't well, without a bit of complaint. It was as though her hatred of him had evaporated because he had kept her safe back in the museum.

Much as he found the woman interesting, he had to find out more about himself, more about Team Rocket. He had to stop them, had to destroy them. Needed to prevent them from using more people to create others like him. He got off the bed, ignoring his muscles' protests. Quickly, he took out his cloak and glasses, putting them on. Checking under the bed, he found his guns and his dagger.

Once he had his weapons in their usual, easy to reach places, he started the door, opening it and moving so quickly that he nearly crashed into Misty who was just outside the door, a tray of food balanced on one hand, the other reaching for the handle.

Misty blinked and frowned at him in annoyance. "Where do you think you're going? You should be resting, not getting all worked up as though you're ready to go on an adventure or something," she chastised him as she pushed him back into the room with her free hand.

"But there are many thing that I have to do," Ash argued, surprised at her strength. Even though he was unprepared, he usually couldn't be moved by just anyone.

"All of us have things to do, my dear," Misty retorted sarcastically. "But you won't be able to do anything well if you aren't absolutely well yet. I don't want you to run off before your body is ready, only to find yourself in need of care again," she growled at him. Before he could add another word in edgewise, she cut him off. "Now, quit yapping and start eating," she trusted the tray at him and narrow her eyes dangerously.

Ash glared at her, at the tray which was now in his hands, and back at her. Even though he had his glasses on, he had a feeling that the woman could see him, as she narrowed her eyes further. _'Great. What does she want from me now? I've already thanked her, haven't I?'_

Ash continued to glare at Misty, while Misty did likewise, even though Ash had the advantage of wearing dark glasses. Seconds passed as they did nothing but pit their will power against each other, neither willing to give way. That was, until their stomachs growled audibly.

Ash blinked at the sound, while Misty blushed and looked at her tummy. Suddenly, she burst out laughing at the humour of the situation. Ash stared at her face as she continued to laugh.

Slowly, he felt himself smile a little. But Ash didn't know what it was since he had never smiled at all during the time he was with Giovanni, simply knowing that it felt good.

"You're smiling," Misty commented once her fit had subsided. Seeing the confused look on his face, she wondered if he even knew what she was talking about. "You know, like I'm smiling now?" she smiled.

"Oh," Ash nodded. So that was a smile... "I do believe that it is time for lunch?" he stated, rather than asked. Misty nodded. "If so, can I go somewhere else to eat? This room is... rather restrictive," he added.

"Well, since you have the strength to argue with me, I guess you're well enough to walk around," Misty nodded. "I guess now's a time as good as any to take you on a tour of the compound." And I think I know just the place for him to get some fresh air and let his pokemon out...

"That would be helpful."

Suddenly, Misty realised something. "You know, I've told you my name when we first met and I still don't know your name now," she glanced at Ash as she led the way.

"Just call me Ash."

-!-!-!-!-

"Very impressive place," Ash commented, looking at the grassland around them. This was the first time he had actually seen an area of land so large which was undamaged by buildings of any kind.

"Yeah. It's like a miniature pokemon reserve, actually, since Professor Oak uses the land to rear and research pokemon," his companion replied. "You can release your pokemon if you want to," she added.

Ash took out his pokeballs and threw them far into the air. It was a habit of his to try to cover more area. It meant that his pokemon would be able to manoeuvre better. Halgre and Eidra appeared to be very happy to be out of their pokeballs.

He settled down onto one of the chairs opposite Misty as he continued to observe the land from the platform they were on. "How did you get to know about Professor Oak?" Ash wondered aloud.

"It was around ten years ago when I first met Professor Oak. Brock and I were on our pokemon journey, and we were on the way back to our respective cities when we found out that we were running low on supplies. So we came here to restock and met Professor Oak. We became good friends and so Brock and I usually help out around here when we have spare time," Misty answered.

Ash nodded as he swallowed. "Does anyone else live here other than the Professor?"

"There's Gary and May Oak, grandchildren of the good professor. And there was another family living here. A lady and her son. Funny thing is that I can't seem to remember much about them. All that I know is that they passed away in an accident around three years ago, I think," she laid her chin on her hands as she set her elbow on the table. "And what's with the questions?"

"I just want to make sure that this professor has nothing to do with Team Rocket," Ash replied flatly as he turned to look at the sun which was high above the mountain at the far side of the plateau.

"Weren't you with Team Rocket?" she asked innocently, only to jump and yelp in surprise as Ash slammed his clenched fist down on the table. Hard.

"Do not mention them again, even less so about my former relationship to them," he faced her, an angry look on his face. "They betrayed me and I will never forgive them for that."

"O-okay," his companion squeaked. "Sorry about that."

"......" Ash did not react to her apology for some time. "Forget it."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's notes again:

Okay. Chapter 9 ready to go, with quite a bit of revision in the previous chapters. Drakon is now called Eidra, since I felt that I shouldn't 'copyright' nicknames. There are many little changes which probably won't matter, but felt that I aught to.

Anyway, I apologise to my old readers for having taken so long to post this chapter. . the next chapter won't be out anytime soon, since the exams I mentioned before were simply school exams. Now, I've got my Prelim exams just around the corner (literally, since it starts on Monday) and I've got my O Levels after that that. My guess is that I'll be back around... November? (.''')

Well, hope that you enjoyed this chapter. Nothing much, since it's only an introduction to... Ash's new life. Of sorts. I think. scratches head I've got no idea how this will turn out, even though the general idea is there. Till next time then.


	10. Chapter 10

Alter Persona

* * *

Chapter 10

* * *

Disclaimer: Don't own pokemon... except the guidebooks.

* * *

Misty endured the silence between Ash and herself. Much as she wanted to find out more about his relationship to the notorious organisation, she knew that another word would make him snap at her again. And there was an air of forbidding she wasn't inclined to breech.

His red eyes didn't help much. It reminded her of demons or monsters from cartoons she had seen. It didn't seem all that bad when he wasn't frowning, but when he did, he looked scary. Yet she kept stealing glances at his face. There was something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Hey Misty."

She quickly pulled her eyes away from Ash and focused on whoever had called her even though she already knew who it was, by the voice. "Hey Gary," she replied, smiling. When she first met him, she had thought him to be an arrogant bract who always had things his way. Years of interaction, however, gave her an insight to his other side. Sure. She still thought him an arrogant brat, but at least he was tolerable than back then. "Ash, meet Gary oak, grandson of professor oak," she introduced. "Gary, this is Ash whom I found a few days ago."

Ash nodded in acknowledgement. Gary did likewise and scrutinised the man. Misty immediately realised that Gary was going to say something provocative. "You must be pretty weak to be unable to fend off your assailants. Not to mention that you needed a woman to nurse you back to health. Pokemon or people, I could've taken care of them before they tried to do anything."

Ash narrowed his eyes slightly but said nothing. Misty knew that Ash's pokemon was anything but weak and if the stories he heard from Brock and Erica were even half true, Ash would be about as strong as his pokemon. "Give him a break, Gary. He's just recovered."

Gary's eyes widened in mock horror. "Oh I'm sorry. Did my words hurt you anywhere? Your ego, perhaps?" he sneered and started laughing.

Gary's words had struck a nerve and Ash suddenly felt himself wanting to either grab him by the collar, throttle him and threaten him, or simply draw his dagger and throw it at him. His fist clenched and made a cracking noise but only Misty noticed it since Gary was laughing too hard to notice anything.

"Cut it out, Gary," Misty growled, know that Ash was armed and hence not nice to provoke. Well, armed or unarmed, he's still not one to be angered. "Shove off before-"

"I let my pokemon take care of you," Ash told Gary crisply, clearly. Misty turned to Ash in shock.

"What?! You can't...!"

"So I'm to be scared of your pokemon now, huh?" Gary had a look of mock fear now. "Go ahead. Let's see if they can get past _my_ pokemon first," he smirked.

"Stop it. _Now,_" Misty interjected sharply as she planted herself between the two men. She's had enough of being ignored. "Gary, no more snide remarks from you." She jabbed a finger at the hollow of his shoulder. "And you better not release your pokemon here. I will not tolerate you ruining the house," she turned and did the same to Ash. "Am I clear?" her voice was dangerously low.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Gary sighed. "So, Ash, think that your pokemon are good? I challenge you to a pokemon battle later after dinner."

"So be it," Ash accepted the challenge.

'Hoo boy. Gary's really in for it now,' Misty thought to herself. "Let's go. I haven't introduced you to Professor Oak yet," she told Ash, a growl in her voice. She was not happy about the two's initial meeting.

Ash glowered at her but followed. Now instead of uncomfortable silence, there was an atmosphere of subtle anger between them. The duo headed upstairs where the lab was. Ash had expected the lab to be filled, but hadn't expected the pokemon to be running all over the place freely. Once more, he had something to compare between this place and Team Rocket's lab.

"Togepi, Professor Oak," Misty greeted the moment she reached the top of the stairs. The baby pokemon trilled and waddled over to Misty but stopped to peer up at Ash when it saw him. "This is Ash, the one I found a few days ago," she introduced as the professor came over while she picked up her pokemon.

"So you're Ash. Nice to meet you," Professor Oak picked up his cup, his other arm occupied by files.

"Thank you for accommodating me," Ash replied, and the professor had been distracted by the cold coffee in his cup and had called mister mime to refill his cup.

"That's no problem, actually," Professor Oak took the refilled cup. "This place has expanded but there isn't really many people coming up around here. Brock would, occasionally, and Bill too. But not one else, besides them."

"That's one of the reasons why Brock and I like to visit this place. It's peaceful and quiet," Misty added. Her anger at Gary and Ash's reaction to Gary's words had cooled down slightly, but there was still an edge to her voice. "Besides, we get to learn to interact with pokemon as well as to learn all the pokemon's strengths and weaknesses."

"I see," Ash answered with indifference. "And why are you still keeping a broken storage unite?" he pointed to the broken down hunk of machinery. Most of the time, broken down storage units were cleared out and thrown away.

"That unit still contains one pokeball. I can't throw it away since I still haven't extracted it. Bill's been helping to try to take it out, but it seems like it's stuck in the machine or something. Each time he comes around, he tries to get it out but it doesn't seem to work, no matter what he tries," the researcher answered, sipping the coffee. "You're welcomed to take a look at it though. If you'll excuse me, I've got to carry on with my research. Hope you enjoy tinkering with it and hope that your stay here would be fruitful," he finished and returned to his seat in front of a computer, the pokemon crowding around Misty.

"You think you can fix it?" Misty glanced at him as she played with the pokemon. Ash only shrugged and knelt down in front of the machine and starting to fiddle around with it. Misty went back to playing with the pokemon, knowing that he wasn't likely to say anything much now.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Bleep," the machine beeped, capturing the attention of the other two occupants.

Ash pushed the keyboard on which he had been typing on for the past few minutes as the motors whirred. He turned to look at the professor, whose face wore a stunned expression, before turning back. He immediately regretted it as a red and white orb slammed into his face, knocking him flat on his back.

Misty went over and grabbed his hand, pulling him back into the sitting position. Professor Oak picked up the ball, a pokeball with a lightning bolt etched above the little circle, and turned it around. Ash merely felt relieved that he wasn't wearing his glasses.

"Interesting," Professor Oak muttered, still turning the ball around. "I could've sworn that I lost this pokeball years ago." Ignoring Misty's curiosity and Ash's glare at the offending orb, the professor went on. "This used to be the pokemon of my late neighbour's son."

"So are you going to let it out?" Misty kneeled next to Ash as Togepi clambered over Ash's legs.

"I don't think I would be letting it out anytime soon. When I first gave it to Ash, it was unpredictable, too easily angered and won't listen to anyone or anything. And it's so strong that I doubt we can hold it in check," Professor Oak cautioned.

Ash snapped to attention at the mention of his name and frowned. Ash was the name of the professor's ex-neighbour, both of whom died three years ago. In an accident. Was it really that coincidental? Or was Giovanni telling the truth? Ash couldn't bring himself to believe Giovanni's words.

"Okay," Misty glanced at Ash slightly, then made a face as her stomach growled. "Well, if there's nothing else, let's go get dinner!" she suggested. The two men blinked at her words, but before either could say anything, Ash found himself being dragged along. "No complains from you. You're not fully recovered yet," she added.

Ash sighed a little but followed her anyway. Besides, he wanted to get ready for the challenge issued earlier. Not that he really had to.

"By the way, nice job on the machine just now."

The complement from Misty was so unexpected that Ash had to pause and let it register. "Thank you," he acknowledge.

Another pause.

"I apologize."

"What for?"

"For my earlier confrontation with Gary Oak."

"Oh."

A short period of silence.

"You weren't totally at fault there," Misty bowed her head slightly. "I should be the one apologising instead. I shouldn't have lost my temper."

"You need not apologise. Gary is an asshole," Ash said instead, making Misty look up and smile.

"Yeah. I guess you're right," she giggled. "He's an arrogant bat, but he's easier to be with once you get to know him."

Ash could only shrug at her comment. He wasn't one to do much socialising. And he didn't take insults kindly as well. Ash felt that at best, he and Gary would be nodding acquaintance.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Gary was already waiting for them when Ash and Misty entered the battle arena. Proudly, the pokemon trainer-researcher displayed his team. Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Arcanine, Pidgeot, Blastoise and Umbreon stood at attention, waiting for their master's orders.

"Nice to see that you're not a coward as well as a weakling," Gary directed to Ash.

"You're so full of yourself, Gary," Misty returned wearily. Ash lightly brushed back his cloak, extracting his two pokeballs. Flinging his hands up, the pokeballs opened to release the creatures held within. As she had expected, Gary retreated slightly. "Surprised?" she smirked as she patted Halgre's foreleg. The pokemon made a low rumbling noise from it throat, giving Misty a sideways glance.

"Size doesn't matter in a pokemon battle. It's the skills of both pokemon and trainer," Gary retorted, taking his place on one end of the arena. "Take your position, Ash."

"Would you care to be the Judge for this battle?" Ash asked the woman who shook her head. She was contented with sitting down to simply watch the battle. Ash took his place, his pokemon trotting after him. "Very well. I will use only Halgre and Eidra."

"I'll use only Arcanine and Umbreon. No time limit," Gary declared. "Arcanine, you go first," he directed. The dark type pokemon leapt into the arena nimbly.

Eidra entered the battle area as well, regarding Arcanine with a hint of arrogance. Communication between trainer and pokemon was not necessary. Ash wanted his pokemon to think and act by themselves. Eidra stood his ground and waited for Umbreon to attack.

"Arcanine, agility!" Gary commanded. The tiger like leaned back slightly and disappeared as it started running. Occasionally, streaks of orange indicated that Arcanine was circling Eidra. "Body slam!"

Eidra huffed as it sidestepped nimbly away from the attack, knowing that at Arcanine's speed, it would not be able to adjust in order to ram Eidra. It's tail swept towards the place it stood less than a second before, slamming into Arcanine, throwing it back.

Gary couldn't believe that such a large pokemon could be so dexterous or so fast. "Arcanine, bite it!"

The orange pokemon growled angrily before it leapt at the dragon, fangs and claws bared to inflict maximum damage. Nonchalantly, Eidra took to the sky, and created a wall of fire, causing Arcanine to yelp and fall back before it got burnt. However, it quickly found itself unable to move as Eidra enclosed it in a ring of flame.

"Arcanine! Use sky spin slash like we learnt in training!" Gary commanded.

Arcanine crouched in preparation to leap. It carefully watched Eidra as the flying pokemon circled him. Then, it jumped. It flew over the wall of fire and did a somersault in midair, striking Eidra across the chest before landing on the ground.

Eidra roared in pain as it landed, a furious look in its eyes. Ash frowned. Eidra rushed at Arcanine with a speed which astonished both the tiger pokemon and its trainer. Arcanine barely missed the dragon. However, it did not expect that Eidra would extend its claws to slash at Arcanine as it rushed past.

Arcanine howled as Eidra recovered, and took to the air once more. Quickly, it tried to execute the sky spin slash move again. But Eidra wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice, grabbing onto Arcanine in midair.

Roaring, Eidra gave it an angry glare, before opening its mouth to bite off the pokemon's head.

"Eidra. Stop," Ash's voice caused the pokemon to freeze. "This is a battle. Not a hunt. You do not kill another trainer's pokemon," he ordered, much to Misty's surprise. She thought that he won't give a damn about it. "Return," he added.

Eidra glared at Arcanine once more and huffed, before dropping it to the ground unceremoniously. It lumbered back to Ash's side when it landed.

"I apologise for my pokemon's rash actions. I allow it to fight by instinct, which can make it much more aggressive than most pokemon," Ash explained. "Halgre would not pose such a problem though. That is, if you aren't afraid of getting your Umbreon injured," Ash looked at Gary as the researcher rushed to Arcanine's side to check on its injuries. The single slash Eidra had given Arcanine was merely a glancing slash by Ash and Eidra's standards. But it had cut rather deeply into Arcanine's side. It wasn't serious, though.

"Nah. I'm experienced enough to know if my pokemon can handle the battle. And I don't think yours even broke a sweat," Gary looked at the dragon warily. "I concede. But how did you train your pokemon? Where did you get it? I've never seen either of them before! I know my grandfather would be very interested to observe them..."

Misty smiled from the sidelines as Gary slipped into researcher mode. At least they weren't treating each other as enemies now. Happier than earlier, she picked up Togepi and left the arena.

* * *

Author's notes: The battle wasn't written well. I guess I wasn't in the mood for writing the battle... but I hoped you enjoyed it, though. Most of this is the character development stage. But things grow complicated as the story progressed.

Anyway, thanks for your support, people. I'm very happy to know that my story is actually enjoyed by people.

Nick Johnson: I've been great, and I just finished my final exams. I'm willing to answer your questions as long as it would help you understand the fic. For your information: 6: Ash is not on an island at the start. He was in a dream. 7. You'll find out more about the island later in the story. Way later. grins evilly 8. What kind of island? It's an island, dude. Anyway, like question 7, more will be explained in the future. 9, 10 and 11. You'll find out everything next time. I'm not going to spoil the story by telling you everything. 12, 13 and 14. Yes, they're scientists. They are Team Rocket scientists. What kind of scientist? They cloned Ash. So what do you think? I hoped my answers satisfy you. Still, you'll probably have to wait for me to be in the mood before I can write well, so don't expect the next chapter to come out so soon.

Thanks for all of your support, readers. Cheers!


	11. Chapter 11

Alter Persona

* * *

Chapter 11

* * *

Disclaimer: Do not own pokemon, except for the cartridges and some VCDs.

* * *

Pikachu was the only one aware of what had happened. He was the only one who had been with his master before he died three years ago. That was the only reason he had been returned to his pokeball. In there, he would remain until another trainer worthy of him appeared. Only then would his pokeball be released from the storage unit.

And so, he waited, as he had been told to.

When he felt his pokeball jerk, he was surprised. He had not expected to be released so soon. He didn't know if it was day or night, or how much time has passed. He simply knew that it didn't seem long enough for someone of his master's calibre to find him. He waited to be called out, but no one did. He found it a little strange, since many trainers would not hesitate to 'check out' their new Pokemon, as his old master used to say.

Time passed, yet he still sat in his pokeball. He sighed to himself, scratching the back of his ear. It seemed that he would have to come out on his own.

Ash's sleep was plagued with scenes he didn't understand. Scenes, it seemed, from his past, present and future. He saw things he didn't want to see, did things he didn't want to do…

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

_He was talking to someone. A girl. Misty. But she appeared to be younger than the Misty she knew. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, unlike now. Her hair fell down, past her shoulders now._

_He strained to hear what he was saying. But he could not. And he felt downcast. He was looking at the table more often than he looked at Misty. He could not hear anything. But he say her expressions. Curiosity at first, then shock, as her eyes grew wide. He couldn't hear, yet felt her sharp intake of breath. Finally, her eyes showed pain and sadness before adverting away._

_Her mouth opened in reply, but he couldn't hear her words, couldn't hear anything. The noise around them, the sound of vehicles. Nothing._

_He looked up at her when she was done speaking, when she stood up. The rain had started falling. They were the only two still in the rain. The other patrons were already under shelter._

_He looked at her mouth something and turn. The rain started to fall even harder. Raindrops rolling down her cheeks, she turned completely and walked off, leaving him alone, sitting in the rain._

_(-)(-)(-)(-)(-) _

_He found himself standing on an altar, waiting for something to happen. No. waiting for someone to appear. The pillars surrounding the altar were glowing, letting off a sea green luminescent light. He blinked away tears he didn't realize he had as three specks of dots, each of them above their respective islands, appeared. A whirlpool suddenly appeared in the middle of the sea, rising quickly. It suddenly exploded as the entity within revealed itself. A white and blue flying Pokemon, with two rows of plates running down its back._

_(-)(-)(-)(-)(-) _

_A flaming bird, its wings of fire flapping, landed in front of the pillar, completing the circle. He looked around. Lugia stood directly before him. Suicune, Entei and Raiko to his left, Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno on his left._

_He felt voices in his head, like the Pokemon were speaking telepathically. He could not hear what was said, but he replied. He could not hear his voice, could not hear his words. He did not know what he said. But everyone present appeared solemn._

_(-)(-)(-)(-)(-) _

_he felt pain, feverish. The flesh on his back burned as it forced itself to heal. He wanted to move, but couldn't. Each slight motion set off a chain of lightning through his body, coursing through his veins, making him feel as though his body was burning with pain. He heard no sound, yet heard someone gasp. It was like a silent film._

_He opened his eyes against his better wishes, then winced at the pain as the light assaulted his eyes. Misty was next to him, looking at him worriedly as she placed the back of her hand against his forehead, only to quickly withdraw it and wince._

_He saw her say something. He did not know what he said, but felt assurance, as he closed his eyes again._

_(-)(-)(-)(-)(-) _

_He was on a balcony with Misty, talking, smiling. Their Pokemon were around them, talking, joking, laughing with each other. He felt content, felt like he was the happiest person on earth. Simply because......_

_(-)(-)(-)(-)(-) _

_he was in a fight with a monster. One of those... creatures he fought against, while in Team Rocket's base. It struck. He parried. He slashed. It parried. He knew that one wrong move, and he would be seriously injured. But he had to see how she was. He turned._

_And cried out as a Jolteon fired pin missiles at Misty, striking her so hard she flew and slammed against the wall behind her, the needles pinning her to the wall. He saw her face contorting into a pained scream, felt himself screaming along as he arched backwards......_

(-)(-)(-)(-)(-)

"No!" he sat up suddenly, his eyes wide and aware, darting around the room. His voice had been loud but fortunately, Professor Oak and Gary's rooms were at the far end of the compound. He pressed his face against his palm, wiping away his sweat.

"Ash, are you alright?" Misty called from outside before opening the door and entering the room.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just a nightmare," he answered. As with most dreams, the details fled his conscious mind quickly. But several scenes had burned themselves into his mind. Misty, with the rain falling on her, the gathering of the legendaries and Misty being attacked. Those scenes he couldn't forget, even though he wished to forget the last one.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" she spoke softly, comfortingly.

Ash shook his head. How could he tell her what he had seen in his dream? And he wondered. Why was Misty also part of his dream? What connection did he have with her? He shot a glare at the door. "Still here? Shouldn't you be getting your beauty sleep?" he growled softly.

Misty felt her eye twitch. "For your information, I am used to lack of sleep!" she growled back. "And is that the thanks I get for being concerned about you?" she added sarcastically. "And I bet you can't stay awake the rest of the night!"

Ash arched an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"

Misty pushed the door open. "So what if it is?" she stared, her eyes narrowed.

"Very well then, I accept your challenge. What are the rules?"

"Just stay awake," Misty shrugged. "Waddaya expect?"

"Fine."

* * *

Misty growled under her breath, staring at Ash's face. He remained impassive, staring back at her with his never-blinking crimson eyes. Still growling, she dropped her eyes to the chess pieces and finally made a move, knowing that she lost.

"Checkmate," Ash muttered, his mouth twitching slightly as he moved his knight into position.

"Gah! Ten rounds! And I didn't even win one!" Misty complained.

"Actually... it was your carelessness which caused your loss," Ash answered. "If you had moved your bishop here," he picked up the piece and placed it at another spot, "you would've checkmated me."

Misty blinked, then let out a cry of exasperation.

"And it is already seven in the morning. I suggest that we get ready to start our day," Ash started to pick up the pieces and replace them in the box. "I apologise for waking you up with something as trivial as my nightmare."

"Nah. It doesn't matter. I'm a light sleeper. Besides, I owed you one for back at the museum. And I'm always up for a challenge," she chuckled. You remind me of Ash, actually."

"I presume that you are referring to Professor Oak's ex-neighbour?" Ash perked up in interest. "You knew him well?"

Misty shook her head. "I better get back to my room. If Gary sees my in your room, he's going to speculate about our status as friends, and our reasons for being in your room. Not that I mind, if he tries to suggest anything in front of me. It would give me a change to whack him," she grinned. "See you later."

Ash nodded and continued packing the chess board as she got up and left the room. Once he had tidied the room, he headed for the bathroom where he spent some time showering, pondering how Misty was related to him. And not forgetting a Pikachu. He hadn't really noticed it earlier, but there was a Pikachu on his shoulder...

He got out of the bathroom, cleaned and wearing a set of new clothes. His cloak he decided to leave behind, however. Misty had told him that when he came into a room with the cloak on, she got the impression that he was going to do something which could get him killed.

He headed for the living room. He knew that the morning news were a good source of information update, and he never missed it.

* * *

Pikachu blinked as he was released from the ball. He hated it and would never get used to it. He looked around and recognised the place as Professor Oak's lab. The lab had changed over time, but the mess hadn't. he sighed and bounded off. Might as well check out on the television programs he had missed.

The living room was already occupied and the television was already on, so he hopped onto the couch, next to the dark haired man who was already there. Thinking that the man was probably a guest, he greeted him and pressed the button on the remote. The cartoon channel came on, and Pikachu was glad that it hadn't changed.

The man changed the channel back to the news. Pikachu switched it. The man switched it. Cartoons. News. Cartoons. News. Cartoons. News.

By now, both of them were glaring at each other. The guy was, in Pikachu's opinion, one pushy man. He had half the mind to let loose a thundershock on him.

* * *

"Hey Ash, what's on television?" Misty came into the room, bathed and having changed into a set of new clothes.

"I'm trying to watch the news. This Pikachu wants to watch cartoons," he answered in a somewhat monotonous manner. The yellow mouse beside him replied with a _Pika!_

"Then switch it over to cartoons. We usually oblige the Pokemon," Misty informed Ash as she took the sofa chair. "Morning," she greeted the Pikachu as it stuck its tongue out at Ash and jumped onto her lap with a greeting of _Pikachupi!_ Togepi trilled in her arms as Ash switched the channels again, this time to cartoons.

"Did we even have a Pikachu here? I don't recall seeing one yesterday," Ash commented, staring at the mouse who was trying to watch the cartoons and him at the same time.

Misty blinked. "Good point. There wasn't supposed to be a Pikachu in the house."

"Then where did it come from? Everyone knows that wild Pikachus don't just waltz into a home and switch television channels. The Pikachu acts as though it owns this place," Ash brushed he hair back and stared at the Pikachu, eye to eye.

The Pikachu started. "Pikapi?!" it squeaked loudly.

* * *

It couldn't be, could it? Pikachu rubbed his eyes, shook its head and looked again. The man looked like Ash. Except that this man seemed colder, older, and had eerie glowing red eyes. He knew that Ash was dead. Yet, there was someone who looked so much like Ash standing in front of him. But... if it was Ash, why didn't he recognise him?

He hopped onto Ash, sniffing. It was Ash's scent, alright. But was a slight difference... "Will you get off me?" Ash growled. Pikachu shook its head and clung onto Ash. He did not know what had happened. And he knew that only by sticking to Ash would he ever find out the story.

"Looks like it adopted you, Ash," Misty smirked. Pikachu stuck his tongue out at her. Suddenly, a terrified yell echoed through the house.

A flustered Professor Oak came running down the stairs, yelling something about an aggressive Pikachu being free and running amok. Pikachu was miffed. He knew that the professor was talking about him, but he wasn't aggressive.

"Are you talking about this one?" Ash pointed at him.

The old man stopped, looked, blinked, took a second look and finally letting his jaw drop. "You know, Ash, you really look like the late Ash Ketchum with that Pikachu on your shoulder." Pikachu frowned slightly, pressing his ears back. Of course it was Ash! Didn't anyone recognise him? But even as he thought about that, he felt Ash jerk involuntarily. "Are you sure you're not Ash?"

"No. I am not Ash Ketchum." Pikachu nearly fainted at those words. What had happened to his master since he was kept in the ball? Why was his master still around? He had been with Ash on that day. And he knew his master is dead. So what exactly had happened?

"If you insist. Would you mind taking care of it? It's been cooped up in the pokeball for far too long anyway," professor oak tapped a finger against his chin. "Besides, it seems to like you a lot. Which I have no idea why."

"Me too," Ash deadpanned, glaring at Pikachu out of the corner of his eye, which Pikachu pointedly ignored.

* * *

Misty found Ash at the balcony (or as Ash called it, the observation deck) watching Eidra and Halgre flying, while Pikachu was perched on the wall, scrutinising the former two pokemon.

"Today has been interesting," she commented, her eyes following Halgre as she sat down next to Ash and set Togepi on the floor. She really marvelled the flying pokemon's grace and wished that she could be as graceful as them. "Especially when you introduced Pikachu to your pokemon."

Pikachu turned his head to stare at Misty disdainfully before jumping to the ground and playing with Togepi.

Ash nodded wordlessly, agreeing with her.

When he had released the two large pokemon, they had stared at Pikachu like it was a before-lunch snack. Pikachu had nearly freaked itself out when it saw the size of the two pokemon, and had positively knocked itself out when they looked at him that way.

Misty giggled at the reminder of the incident.

What Ash had not told her was that his pokemon's first words were _'Is that for lunch? A little scrawny and small, but it'll do, I guess.'_

"And you know, you really did look like Ash Ketchum with that Pikachu on your shoulder. And you've never told anyone of us your surname, have you?" Misty questioned.

Ash wished that people would stop comparing himself to… himself. And that they would quit trying to get more information out of him. "No, I have not. I do not wish to reveal it to anyone as of yet."

"Oh. Has it anything got to do with Team Rocket? Oh. Wait. That's a silly question. You don't want them to find out exactly where are you, right?"

Ash ignored her chattering and continued to stare at the sky. Immediately, he started to plan.

He knew that he couldn't stay here for too long. He didn't know the professor or his grandson too well, and he did not wish to know them better. Furthermore, he had no idea what to do in a place like this even if he could stay. He was a wanted man. News would undoubtedly reach this place sooner or later. If that happened, Professor Oak might get into trouble for 'harbouring a wanted man'.

Team rocket was after him as well since Giovanni saw him as a threat. A small one, but still a threat, nevertheless. He could tip off the police about Giovanni and his base, but he knew that the military won't stand much of a chance if they went in unprepared, even more so if Giovanni had made more of those… soldiers. He had to find out more about Team Rocket's progress, and he couldn't possibly do it here. And even if he could, there was no way for him to take them on single-handedly.

It seemed that the world was against him, from every angle. There were so many things he wanted to know. Who was the original Ash? What happened to the original Ash? And why didn't anyone seem to recognise Ash, except as an acquaintance? And the Pikachu. Why would it stick to him like fleas on a Meowth? What did it know that he didn't?

Suddenly, as he came out of his thoughts, he realised that Misty had been quiet for the past few minutes. He had just turned to look at her when he felt her head fall onto his shoulder gently, her eyes closed and her breathing light and soft.

Ash smiled a little. "So… you're finally asleep. I'm amazed you lasted this long," he murmured. Impulsively, he leaned his head closer to her ear and whispered, "Thank you," even though he knew she couldn't hear it.

* * *

Author's Notes: Once again, I apologise for taking this long to update my story. I've been working and getting ready my stuff. And I've been busy trying to work on my Final Fantasy 7 fic, and an original fiction too. For those of you who had enjoyed my story, I think you. For those of you who review, I'm glad for the support and that helps me to write better, knowing my story is appreciated.

Well, like in the last chapter, I'll have to warn you people that I'll work on this when I've got the time, and am in the mood. So please be patient, okay?

Cheers!


	12. Chapter 12

Alter Persona

* * *

Chapter XII: Unanswered Questions, Unspoken Care

* * *

Disclaimer: If you are searching for the owner of Pokemon, you have dialed the wrong number. Please put down the phone and try your call with a different number. Beep!

* * *

It had been over a week since Ash had woken up to find himself in professor Oak's home. He helped out around the house and the two researchers as much as he could, since he decided that he wasn't going to be a freeloader and he had no money on him. Of course, helping with the research enabled him to know more about the different kinds of pokemon, their habitats, life and attacks.

However, his helping with the chores annoyed Mr. Mine to no end since the pokemon saw Ash as taking over his sacred duty.

His interaction with Misty increased since they slept in adjacent rooms, tried to stay out of the way of the Oaks, and made it a daily ritual to visit the balcony during mealtimes and the evenings. Of course, the young gym leader's curiosity regarding his involvement with team rocket was another factor to consider, even though the topic never came out.

Ash knew about it, of course, and avoided telling her too much. Just enough for her to understand and recognize his immense dislike for the organization. Beside the point, he took to consulting her regarding Halgre, since the water and ice were her specialty.

Pikachu stuck to Ash most of the time, trying to find out more about what had happened while he was in his ball, but discovered nothing new. Meanwhile, he also trained with Ash's two other pokemon in order to be able to work with them. Pikachu found both Eidra and Halgre rather enigmatic, but at least he found out a little more about Ash from them. Overall, life was satisfactory. At least, for the moment.

* * *

Ash stared out the window, twirling his pen. The day had started off rather promising, but they hadn't expected it to promise rain.

Ash and Misty had decided to take advantage of the good weather and explore the extensive plains around the back of the house in the plateau, the one they saw from the balcony. The Oaks had wanted to document the pokemon living there, but they were often too busy to leave the lab. Furthermore, since this area was so close to the labs, they decided to leave it till the end, when everything was almost done before they visited. So Ash and Misty decided to take an outing while documenting as a favour.

Professor Oak had given Ash his own old pokedex, telling him to take care of it. With that, they had set out. Unfortunately, it wasn't until late afternoon when it started to rain very heavily. Even though Misty had a raincoat (Ash didn't bother with one), they found the rain too strong without any effective shelter nearby and had to run all the way back, getting drenched in the process.

Ash closed his eyes and decided to go next door and ask misty if she was fine. He had been the one who suggested that they took this trip and it wouldn't be his fault if she fell sick. He knocked on her door and waited for a moment. Receiving no reply, he tried the door knob and let himself in, having found it unlocked.

It had been a rather bad habit of his to let himself into a room despite having no reply, since he had the authority to do it, back when he was still in team rocket.

The first thing he noticed about the room was that it was blue. Not just any blue, but a cool sea blue. The walls and ceiling were painted blue, her bed covers and curtains were blue as well. It very much reminded him of the song sung by Eiffel.

The second thing he noticed was that unlike his room which was rather plain, her room was fully furnished and decorated. It looked more like _her_ room than a guest room. But the touch in the way the place was decorated was familiar... as if he had seen it before.

As he wondered how he recognised the touch, he heard the sound of running water. It was only then he realised that Misty wasn't in the room when he came in. Ash turned towards the bathroom, and discovered that his conclusion was correct.

Misty was in the shower, her back towards him. The glass door and wall separating her naked body from Ash was misted completely, but her fiery red hair was still evident.

Feeling his face flush, he spun around quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly. He ended up kicking the chair which was in his way, causing all the books stacked on it to fall onto the ground.

In the shower, Misty was startled by the unexpected noise and turned and wiped away the mist at eye level, allowing her to look out into her room. Instantly, she blushed and switched off the shower, quickly putting on her robe.

Aware that he had been discovered, Ash decided to apologise before she misunderstood the situation. "I apologise for intruding, Miss Waterflower. I was not aware that you were in the shower and the door wasn't locked, so I let myself in," he informed her, still facing away from her.

"I-it's alright," Misty answered, her face burning furiously. "I shouldn't have been so careless, and I know you won't do it intentionally," she entered her room shyly, her hand clutching her robe close to her chest. "You can turn around now. I'm decent."

"I'm sorry, Miss Waterflower," Ash turned to her. And paused in awe. 'God she's beautiful,' he thought to himself. What caught his eye was the way her turquoise eyes shone with energy and trust, even in their current situation, contrasting with her flaming red hair which cascaded down to her shoulder blades.

The young woman shook her head. "It's alright. And please call me Misty. Calling me by my surname seems… rather formal," she requested. "Why did you come into my room anyway?"

"I just wanted to ask if you're fine. You might've caught a cold after being drench," he answered. "I wanted to make sure that you were fine since I was the one who suggested this trip. Should you have fallen ill, I would've been guilty."

Misty smiled, tilting her head slightly. "I'm fine. What about you? I had a raincoat, but you didn't even bring one."

"I'm fine. After my... training with Team Rocket, a small thing such as rain can't hurt me," Ash told her with a hiss of anger directed not at her, but at the aforementioned organisation.

"That's a relief," Misty smiled a little, her eyes softening. "And Pikachu is fine, I suppose?"

"He's dried of, and watching cartoons in the living room. He's acting as if he has to catch up with ever missed show," Ash commented. "I think I had better leave you to your privacy now," he turned to go, then turned back to face her. "And remember to lock the door."

"Thanks for your concern," Misty saw him to the door. And closed it slowly after him, taking his advice and locking it. One she heard him leave, she turned and leaned against the door.

"Why?"

* * *

Ash sat up suddenly, gasping for breath. The dreams seemed to be getting more and more vivid, but he couldn't remember anything else other than what he already knew. He did not know why he was having these dreams, how he knew everything, even though he did not. But he knew that it was important, that it would affect him. And her...

He narrowed his eyes. He had to find out more about the legendaries.

Taking care not to wake Pikachu, he got out of bed and headed for the library section of the house. It was his good fortune that he happened to be staying next to the largest library archive available in the whole of Kanto.

Knowing that the usually used reference materials wielded no information he needed, he skipped them and looked towards the back of the library, which was hardly accessed. He scanned through the spines of the books quickly but thoroughly, picking out books which even hinted to contain a bit of information regarding the topic he was pursuing.

After he felt that he had enough material to keep him occupied for some time, he headed for the desk and began looking through the books. He became rather disappointed when he couldn't seem to find much other than descriptions, sketches and photographs. Most of the information he already knew, or discovered was incorrect.

However, there was some information which he found rather useful, even though he had to refer to many books at the same time to get most of the irritatingly small picture. Apparently, Lugia was mostly unknown and even unheard about in the past. It was said that he would appear if the three legendary birds were awakened and threatened the world; it would make its appearance.

Unfortunately, it would not appear to just anyone. Only the Chosen One would be able to seek it out, and awaken it at his or her call.

Ash had tried to find out more information about the identities of the previous few who were chosen. Sadly, there had only been two other cases. The identities of the two Chosen Ones were kept by the Legendary Creatures themselves, so no one ever found out who they were. The only clue was that they were commonly hailed as the Ultimate Master. Further searches regarding the title ended up in naught, so Ash gave it up.

He discovered that the Legendary Birds could be awakened if their respective islands were subjected to immense climatic changes which went against the properties of their elements. Ash frowned a little at that. He wanted to call the legendaries, but this was too drastic a move.

Ash also found out that the three other legendary creatures, Entai, Raiko and Suicune could be called upon granted that the one _closest_ to the Chosen one could present the Tiles in its correct and specific order. There had been cases whereby others had called them, and they had appeared. But it didn't necessarily mean that they could get the Legendaries to listen to them. As it was, most of the 'summonings' were purely coincidental. And no one had actually been able to call up all of them, despite the fact that the positioning of the tiles and order were exchanged between 'summoners'. That was, except for one. Similarly, his identity was as obscure as the Ultimate Masters

Ash frowned a little at that, not really understanding what exactly was going on. It seemed like there were many specifications to be fulfilled. And many of which he had no idea to where start looking for.

Heaving a mental sigh, he glanced at the clock and decided that he had had enough for a night. It was either very late at night, or rather early in the day. His mind full of new information, Ash returned to bed to catch a couple more hours' worth of sleep.

* * *

It had been several days past since Ash had started looking for information which could enable him to know why he had been getting those dreams. Further searches and enquiries to both researchers and the web turned up nothing.

Ash was on the balcony and wondering about the answers to the same old questions he had been asking himself. Where was the place which the legendary pokemon gathered? There was no such place describing that he had seen in his dream despite searches. And how did Misty fit into this? What sort of relationship did he have with her? Why was it that no one seemed to remember anything about him and recognise him? And why was it that other that what he could remember from the dreams, he knew almost nothing about himself?

He looked up at the sound of the sliding doors being opened and was unsurprised to see Misty join him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she sat down next to him, tilting her face to regard him. Ash shook his head. "You seemed rather preoccupied lately and I was wondering if something was wrong."

"Everything's fine. Just some personal stuff," Ash muttered, not willing to tell her what he himself did not know.

"I see..." she murmured in reply, looking out at the mountain in the distance. "Sometimes, I wish the lab was built on the other side, overlooking the sea. Not that I don't like this place. It's beautiful, but the sea appeals to me more.

"If your room was any indication, I would say so," Ash answered, causing her to smile. "You seem to have built a personal haven here," he added.

"Yeah, I have, haven't I?" she spoke softly, seemingly to herself. "Since I actually spent more time here than at home, Professor Oak gave me a room of my own, allowed me to decorate it to my liking and paid for everything," she clasped her hands together and glanced at the floor.

"Won't you rather spend more time with your family?" Ash inquired, his turn to tilt his face to look at her.

A quick flash of pain crossed her face, after which, darkened at Ash's question. "Spend time with my family? With my sisters? Forget it," she muttered, turning away and crossing her legs. "I'd rather go on another journey by myself."

"But why? I thought most people would prefer to spend time with their family."

"Because I hate my sisters!" she scowled. "Besides, why would it matter to you? You and I have no relationship whatsoever so you shouldn't pry into my personal affairs."

Ash continued to stare at her despite not being able to see her face as he considered her words. "You really hate your sisters? That's a good thing for me."

"What!" she snarled, turning back to face him, her eyes narrowed in anger.

Ash shrugged. "I could kill them for you, you know?" He replied. "Could make it look like Team Rocket's work. And I daresay I might want to add them to my list as the next gym leader to fall. Gym leaders make good trophies. Literally killing two birds with one stone."

Instantly, Misty's angry demeanour turned into worry. "What? Why!"

"Because I can, because you hate them," he shrugged again. It was a good thing Pikachu was watching the Powerpuff Girls' marathon on television. "It was my job after all. You ought to remember that it was I who killed Blaine, Koga and Lt. Surge, and I was responsible for the massacre at the museum. One more group of people won't matter."

"How could you talk about killing so easily! We're talking about human lives here!"

"I told you. Because I can. And I don't feel remorse when I kill," he paused. "We're off topic. Give me a reason why I shouldn't -or should- kill them. You would still be alive to handle the gym, without having to care about the sisters you hate so much," Ash crossed his arms behind his head, staring off into space.

"Because they're my sisters, damnit! We don't kill people just because we can or feel like it! Fine! I hate them! I hate the way they shirk their responsibilities! And I hated the way they acted as though nothing happened after my parents died!" she scrambled to her feet, her fists clenched tightly. "But they're still my family! They're all I have left!" her eyes were misted up, almost crying.

"I-I'm sorry," Ash backed off a little, hearing her anger, not knowing if it was directed at him. "What was it that made you hate them so much? And why do you act as if you don't when in front of others?"

Misty collapsed back onto the bench next to Ash, tears brimming in her eyes even though she was trying her best to keep them back. "My sisters used to treat me like a little child since you, even when I turned twelve! So what if they're almost ten years older than I am! They kept making fun of me since I was always the shortest among them, scrawny and not as beautiful as them! And because I didn't have their talent for singing and performing and avoided being part of their performances!"

"I was always left out, always the little runt, not worthy of their attentions, convenient for their use!" she stopped a little, her shoulders shaking. "Because I always went to my parents for support when they made fun of me they started to called me names. And when I was eight, my parents died in a car accident..." her voice became soft, her words coming out in sobs as she kept her face down, her clenched fists on her lap.

"My sisters were around twenty at that time. When my parents died, they simply paid for the funeral, attended it, but left the organizing to other people! And they didn't even cry during the funeral... A few days after that, they were out dating, partying, like nothing had happened. For me..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, Misty," Ash told her, trying to be as comforting as possible as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I... My life was shattered then," she went on, despite the painful reminder of her past. "I lost my pillar of emotional support. With my parents gone, I had no one else to turn to no close friends to confide in. to fend off my sisters, I began to become tomboyish and more rebellious. Finally, when I was eleven, I had enough of my sisters and left to travel, trying to be an expert in water pokemon. When I was with Brock, I… I envied his family. And I returned home several times, but I always pretended not to hate them. I dreaded going home all the same," she had become more composed as she revealed her life to Ash.

"But for those, I can forgive them. The real reason why I hate them is because they were the ones responsible for my parents' death! Because if it wasn't for them, my parents won't have had to leave home that day! It was because they were drunk! At a nightclub! And so my parents had to fetch them!" She ended, her voice loud and hoarse, her lower lip trembling, like her body.

Suddenly, she burst into tears.

Momentarily surprised, he didn't know what to do. Since he had Awoken till now, he had never encountered such an incident. At a loss, he didn't know what he should do at such a time. So he decided to follow his heart.

Slowly and gently, he pulled her into a hug, allowing her to cry onto his shoulder. Even as he did, he was reminded of what the leader of Team Rocket had told him regarding his mother... He felt a slight discomfort as his chest felt a slight pain. But quickly pushing it out of his mind to the current situation at present, he wrapped one arm around her back, the other hand caressing her hair softly and comfortingly, as she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly.

Countless minutes passed, the brightness of the day turning into the orange-red of the setting sun, but neither seemed to notice the passing of time. Misty knew only to seek comfort for the moment, and Ash looking to provide.

Finally, still sniffing, Misty pulled away. "S-sorry about that," she looked down, leaning her forehead against his shoulder. "I shouldn't have exploded like that, but you were the first person to actually ask me about my past. So you were the first person I ever told about my past."

"I should be the one to apologise. I shouldn't have pushed you so hard," Ash replied, placing his fingers under her chin, tilting her head up.

Her eyes still a little watery, Misty shook her head. "You don't have to apologise. I needed to do this, to tell someone and let it all out. I never expected that you would be the one though."

When Ash appeared unaware of what she meant, she smiled a little, albeit still sadly.

"You were so uncaring when I first met you. Then, in the museum, I expected you to do everything you could to protect yourself, but you didn't, and kept me safe. Now, here I am, telling you about my past which no one else had ever known. And I swore never to cry again, yet I just did, in front of you, no less. Funny, isn't it?"

Ash shrugged. "Perhaps I am learning from you. You... showed me things I did not know about," he answered enigmatically.

Misty sighed and smiled a little. "May I borrow your shoulder again?"

The way she looked at him made Ash catch his breath, the way the setting sun bathed her sad features in orange, her eyes shining at a point between relief and sadness. Odd, it seemed to Ash, that it was so much like a drama movie, even as he nodded.

"You know," she spoke up again as she laid her head on his shoulder, "this is so odd. I feel comfortable around you. Like I can trust you... like I have since long before we met. And I feel as if... we've done it before," she glanced up at him. "Sounds crazy huh?"

Ash smiled a little but shook his head no, before resting his head against hers.

No more words were exchanged after that. Together, they watched the sun continue to set, mist glad that she had finally released a burden from her soul and Ash thinking that as long as the one next to him was happy, he would be content.

And as it remained, they knew not about what was to unfold before them, in the future.

* * *

Author's Notes: Sorry it took me this long to update. I got myself killed and it isn't easy for me to find someone suitable to possess who could actually type this out without going 'What kinda crap is this' and still go on typing.

Kidding.

Anyway, I've just got my O-Level results back sometime ago and I had been busy with work, preparing for Polytechnic, and getting over my gaming obsession. Very Nasty Business. XD Anime Rocks! XD

Like stated previously, I'll work on the fic when I feel like it. Won't abandon it though I've got my sonic fic which I've been neglecting too. Gomen nasai

Please read and review. Offer suggestions too, if possible. I'm kinda stuck at the moment. . Flames are appreciated. I'm becoming a reptile or something. Can't seem stand the cold nowadays. Thanks for reading this awful piece of work done by an amateur! Arigato Gozaimasu!

PS. Chapter title sucks ne?


	13. Chapter 13

Alter Persona

* * *

Chapter 13

* * *

Disclaimer: Pokemon belongs to me! I can do whatever I want with them! Bwahahahaha! **No it doesn't, you fool!_ Whatever._**_ Everything related to Pokemon belongs to Nintendo, 4Kids, etc. Any lawyers sent after me will be dealt with by Kyla.

* * *

_

"Thanks again, Professor Oak, I'll call again soon!" Misty told the elderly researcher as they got ready to leave.

"I thank you too," Ash added. "You have been very tolerant of me, housing and feeding me as well as my pokemon."

"Oh, don't worry about that, Ash. Your assistance in my research has been invaluable. Thanks to you and Misty, I've managed to get lots of things done. That alone would be enough for me to want you to keep coming back!" Professor Oak laughed. "I'll leave that room next to Misty's for you if you ever want to come back here for any reason."

Ash forced a smile. "That would be appreciated, but unnecessary. I do not wish to trouble you any further."

"Whatever you say, my boy. You're welcome here any time. Now if you'll excuse me, my research needs me," he smiled and turned, waving as he re-entered the house.

"Alright! So where will you be going next, Ash?" Misty inquired as she shifted her backpack.

"I do not know. I am a wanted man after all, and Team Rocket is probably trying to see if I'm alive. If I am, they probably would want to kill me," he answered. "I do not think that they would care if there are innocents and witnesses when they attack now. They have become a more powerful organization since they... discovered that new weapon," he hissed.

It had been close to a month since Ash had been brought to the Oak residence. Misty had been notified that her sisters were going on another performance trip, so she had to return to take up the role of gym leader again.

Ash felt that he had been a burden on Professor Oak long enough and has decided to leave with Misty. Also, he knew that since his dead, cold body hadn't been found, Team Rocket would still be after him. And he did not want to involve the Oaks in what he deemed as his battle.

Extra researching regarding his dreams had turned up with nothing else. It seemed to him that everything he could find was already found that night. It seemed like the gods were helping him, but only to that extent.

"Why don't you try to explain everything to Lance? Maybe he would understand if you told him everything you knew about Team Rocket, and told him you were being used by them," Misty suggested.

Ash frowned as he looked at her.

"What?"

"You were not present when everything took place at the museum, Mis-ty," Ash told her, stopping himself from calling by her surname. It still took him some getting used to calling her by her first name. "You didn't see what they saw, never heard what they heard, and didn't feel what they felt as I went about killing all the security guards without batting an eyelid. And I stole an important artefact no one knew the use for. Simply put, I'm not very high on the list of being forgiven by anyone, Miss Waterflower," he finished flatly.

"That was just a suggestion!" she defended herself.

"..." Ash did not reply to her retort, instead continuing on his way.

"Maybe you should pay Bill a visit," Misty spoke up again after a few minutes.

"Bill? Who's he?" Ash turned to her.

"Bill's the guy who invented the pokemon storage and transfer system. He helps Professor Oak with his research sometimes, and maybe you could go tell him that you've finally released Pikachu from the storage system," she explained.

Pikachu shot her a withering look when she mentioned that time.

"And where does he live?" Ash asked.

"North of Cerulean City, across the bridge about an hour's journey by foot," Misty told him. The moment she did, she blinked as Ash released Halgre. "What are you doing?"

"Taking us to Bill's place," Ash informed her and grabbed her hand. "Let's go, Hal," he ordered the winged tiger. The pokemon nodded, closing its eyes.

"How are we supposed to get there like this?" Misty complained. "I don't think ice type pokemon had teleport... What the hey?" she added as an envelope of icy mist began forming around them, blanketing them. "What's going on? I can't see anything."

"Would you please shut the hell up?" was Ash's reply.

Misty pouted, but did as Ash told her to. And once she did, she realised that her hand was being held by Ash's own. Her face turned red, but she continued to keep quiet.

"We're here," Ash suddenly declared, startling her a little. "The end of Cerulean Bridge," he added as the mist began to clear up.

Misty glanced around her, finally able to make out the shapes of everything around her. And stare she did the moment she realised that they were no longer along the route to Viridian City, and were instead standing at the end of the aforementioned bridge.

"How did you do that!" she demanded of Ash, looking straight into his eyes. Or rather, at the black lenses of his sunglasses.

He leaned over to her ear. "It's a secret," he murmured slowly, pulling away from her with a sly smile on his face.

Misty felt her cheeks burn again, but in mild anger this time. "Fuck you!"

The smirk widened. "I like my women offering themselves to me," he returned, thoroughly enjoying himself as he made fun of his companion.

Misty's eyes widened a lot the when her mind finally sorted out the words and assembled the implications. "ASH!" she screamed at him in anger and severe embarrassment. It didn't help at all when she also noticed her hand still holding onto his.

Ash laughed out loud for the first time since he had awakened to find himself in Team Rocket's lab. And he was enjoying himself very much, oh yes. "You're so easy to manipulate into embarrassing situations, Misty," he smirked behind his dark glasses as he turned to his pokemon. "Thank you, Hal. Take a rest," he stroked the tiger's head before returning it into its pokeball.

"What skill is that?" Misty inquired. "I'm sure that Professor Oak would be very interested in knowing more about it," she commented as they began the short walk to Bill's house.

"It is information I cannot disclose," Ash maintained. "It is for everyone's safety," he added. "Team Rocket was the first to discover the skill. Should that information leak out, they would not take it kindly, and would definitely go after the professor first, followed by you and me, and anyone else who knows," he reminded her of Team Rocket's ruthlessness.

"Oh," Misty was silenced, but continued to lead the way, even though they could see the house by now. "Hey Bill!" she announced, pressing the doorbell repeatedly once they were there.

Ash looked around. Bill's house was situated over a cliff, and boasted a lighthouse. For what use Ash had no idea. But, Bill... Ash frowned slightly as he went through the list of people on Giovanni's target list. 'Bill McDray... Researcher with regards to dragon types and the Transfer System. Target: all research information regarding Dragon Types; information regarding Transfer interception.'

"I'm coming already!" Bill yelled from behind the door as he finally opened it. "Geez! Stop making so much noise!"

"Heya Bill!" Misty grinned, finally pulling her finger away from the doorbell. "How have you been?"

Bill groaned, but his smile told the two visitors otherwise. "Should've known that it would be you, Misty. What brings you here today, and who's your friend?"

"Ash, this is Bill. Bill, meet Ash. He's the one who got Pikachu out of that trapped pokeball," Misty introduced the two men.

"Nice to meet you, Ash," Bill beamed, sticking out his hand.

Ash looked at Bill, to his hand, and back, before nodding. "Likewise."

"Sorry about Ash's attitude, Bill. He doesn't trust people easily," Misty apologised in Ash's place, earning a glare from the aforementioned man, and returning him one of her own.

Bill chuckled. "It's alright, actually. I've met other researchers from other continents and countries and some of them don't even look at you when you're talking to them. So that's the Pikachu that was released from the trapped pokeball?"

Pikachu nodded in reply, sticking its paw out.

"Nice to meet you, Pikachu. And Ash, thanks for helping Pikachu escape from his prison. I imagine you must've been bored to death, haven't you?" Bill shook the yellow electric mouse's paw. "Oh! And where are my manners? Please! Come in!" he suddenly realised that they were all standing at the door.

"So what are you working on now, Bill?" Misty asked as they entered Bill's living room which was much tidier than Professor Oak's. "We haven't heard from you for quite some time already."

Almost immediately, Bill's demeanour seemed to change from cheerful to worry. "You know that I've been studying dragon type Pokemon for some time already, right? Especially that giant Pokemon?"

Misty nodded, while Ash frowned slightly.

"Recently, I've had reports that dragon type Pokemon seem to have become very restless, often ignoring commands given by their trainers. Wild dragon type Pokemon also seem to be agitated, where some of the usual peaceful Dratini have become rather aggressive against intruders into their territory. Occasional Dragonairs have been rumoured to be heading for the Three Islands."

"I was there before! Back when some crazy guy was trying to capture Lugia..." Misty interjected. "We had to replace the element stones on the altar to calm down the three legendary Pokemon!"

"Yes, that's the place," Bill nodded in agreement. "Anyway as I was saying, Dragonairs were supposedly seen heading there. And the Giant Pokemon had also appeared here several times more since the last time I was in contact with anyone of you."

"What is this giant Pokemon you speak of?" Ash queried.

"We're not too sure, actually," Bill admitted. "It never appears unless it's a foggy day, and only if the fog's exceptionally thick. And each time we try to document it using any form of electronic device, the device either breaks down or could not record anything."

Ash nodded, filing the information into the back of his mind. "Carry on."

"Dragon Pokemon aren't the only ones behaving strangely. Normally aggressive wild Onixes became rather subdued, whereas more docile Pokemon like Butterfree seems to have become easily provoked.

"Also, some of my colleagues from the Johto region who were doing archaeological digs and observations noticed the increased presence of Unknowns, as well as their apparent restlessness. According to Professor Hale, they often band together in group, forming like this," Bill placed a photograph on the table.

Misty leaned over, observing what her researcher friend had just said. The strange creatures seemed to huddle together, forming a row of six on top and a row of three below. Other groups like that could be seen in the background.

"Do you have any idea why this is happening?" Ash questioned, regarding the photo intently. "And has anyone deciphered what the Unknowns are trying to say?"

"Unfortunately, I can't say yes to either question. But according to Professor Oak, these are signs of impending doom. And judging from what happened before, I daresay that he might just have the right idea," Bill said truthfully.

Ash didn't react, instead simply stared at the photograph emotionlessly.

* * *

Author's Note:

Heya peeps. Missed me? _Ducks throw objects from impatient readers._ Sorry! Sorry! I know it's been forever since I last updated. I won't bother listing my reasons since there's too many. But the good thing is that with Firehedgehog's constant reminder, my promise to her and the start of my vacation since my new school term started, I'm updating with this chapter.

Cheerz, fire-chan!

The second thing is, since this is my vacation, I'll probably be updating in a few weeks. I hope. You guys better hope that Fire buggers me enough to get my gears moving. Haha!

Enough of my yapping. Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. If not, wait for the next chapter. The plot's only getting started. _Grins evilly_.

P.S. I promised that I won't abandon this fic, didn't I?


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